The Senedd met in the Chamber and by video-conference at 13:30 with the Deputy Presiding Officer(David Rees) in the Chair.

1. Questions to the First Minister

Welcome, all, to this Plenary meeting. The first item of business today will be questions to the First Minister, and the first question is from Huw Irranca-Davies.

Zimmer Biomet Jobs

Huw Irranca-Davies AC: 1. What representations will the First Minister make to the UK Government to support the case for retaining Zimmer Biomet jobs in Bridgend? OQ59813

Mark Drakeford AC: Dirprwy Lywydd, a meeting is being arranged between the Minister for Economy and the Secretary of State at the Department for Business and Trade to discuss the proposed closure of the Zimmer Biomet Bridgend plant. The Welsh Government’s priority is to do all we can to safeguard as many jobs as possible.

Huw Irranca-Davies AC: First Minister, I'm delighted to hear that active engagement, because, buoyed by sales of knee and hip replacements and improving procedure rates, Zimmer Biomet started this year with,
'a phenomenal quarter where pretty much everything went better than expected',
the CEO, Bryan Hanson, said back in May. The company reported a 10 per cent increase in revenue and net income 16 times what it was a year earlier. It subsequently increased its top and bottom line forecast for 2023, now expecting revenue to increase by 5 to 6 per cent, compared to its previous expectations of a 1.5 to 3.5 per cent increase. Happy days for Zimmer Biomet. So, First Minister, we're even more in the dark about the reasons for the shock announcement by them to consult on withdrawing over 540 manufacturing jobs from their long-standing base in Bridgend. We suspect this is a decision made in the USA, in a very distant boardroom. So, could you and Ministers do all you can to urge UK Ministers to join the calls for this hugely profitable global corporation, which seems to have lost its moral compass, to think again, show loyalty to the workforce and the locality that has shown its loyalty for decades? And if they fail to listen, as they've failed to engage throughout this saga so far, then can you assure these employees that every support from Employability Wales will be given to ensure those skills are not wasted, their years of experience count for something and the workers can go on to fruitful employment with other companies, who might treat them with the respect and the decency that surely every worker deserves?

Mark Drakeford AC: Well, Dirprwy Lywydd, the Member for Ogmore raises a whole series of very important points there on behalf of that very loyal and very successful workforce, and, indeed, that sense of a company that has rather lost its way in recent times in the proper conduct of its relations with both the Welsh Government and with other public authorities. Not only has the Minister arranged to meet the Minister of state at the Department for Business and Trade, but he wrote to the senior vice-president of the company immediately on the news, and met the management team at the factory on 6 July. As my colleague Vaughan Gething said here on the floor of the Senedd last week, our aim is to try to save jobs, rather than accept that jobs are going. And in that, there is an echo in the letter that we received from the senior vice-president, dated the very end of June, when he says at the very start of his letter,
'We have not yet reached a decision'.
And that is very important, because that gives us six months in order to understand better the background to the proposals and then to try to influence it to a different conclusion. We will of course mobilise all the help that is there for workers who find themselves in this situation, should the need arise, but our focus for the immediate future is on direct conversations with the company, better understanding of their position, and then the effort to move things in a different direction.

Altaf Hussain AS: First Minister, the Zimmer Biomet proposals were also a huge shock to the UK Government. Like you, they had no prior knowledge of the company's intentions. As I told the economy Minister last week, these jobs are vital to my region, but the products are also vital to our NHS, as pointed out by Huw—and I'm thankful to him for raising this question. We must do everything we can to persuade Zimmer to keep the jobs here in Wales. Can you expand upon the discussions you have already had, and plan to have, with UK Government Ministers about the situation in Bridgend, and will you pledge to work constructively with UK Government Ministers to ensure every possible avenue is explored in order to retain the manufacturing jobs here in Bridgend? Thank you.

Mark Drakeford AC: Llywydd, I thank the Member for that further question. I’ve seen the letter signed by Lord Johnson, the Minister for Investment at the Department for Business and Trade, jointly with the Secretary of State for Wales to the company, asking them to make themselves available for a meeting as soon as possible. So, I’ve no doubt that UK Ministers are engaged in this matter, and I think if anybody looked at the history of the way in which a response was mounted to the decision of the Ford Motor Company to leave Bridgend, you will see there that it was a genuine cross-Government effort, mobilising help from the UK Government, from the Welsh Government and from the local authority as well. And, of course, in the meeting that Minister Gething here will have with the Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade, that will be an opportunity to map out how we can work together in this instance as well.

Luke Fletcher AS: I'd like to thank Huw for raising this today, and of course my solidarity is with the workers who now face uncertainty through no fault of their own, as we've already heard—Biomet having a better than expected time. Now, Biomet's proposal speaks of manufacturing, but there are of course other jobs on the site, such as research and development. Now, R&D doesn't necessarily demand a supply chain, so what assurances has the Government had that, if this proposal was to happen, the non-manufacturing jobs would be retained on the site?
And I have to say as well, First Minister, as someone who is in their late 20s, I am incredibly concerned for the future of my generation and the generations after mine. We often talk about keeping young people in our communities, but that is becoming more difficult as good-quality jobs continue to disappear. I am worried, of course, about an increase in attitudes amongst my peers that the best option for them now is to move out of Wales. So far, there's very little evidence of prospects for my generation changing. What exactly is the Government offering the young people of Wales, because, from our point of view, the picture continues to be bleak?

Mark Drakeford AC: Llywydd, the company have confirmed that logistics and R&D at Bridgend will continue. So, we have that directly from the company. I don't share the same pessimism as the Member about the future of young people in Wales. Wales has jobs that cannot be filled. Young people are a highly sought-after commodity. There are opportunities for young people in every part of Wales. I understand why, when a major employer in a community sends a signal of wanting to withdraw, that sends a message out to people in that locality. Of course it does, and of course that has an impact on people's own views of their future. But if you look at the Welsh economy in the round, the primary issue that many employers face in Wales is the difficulty of attracting people to come and work for them for jobs that they want to see carried out and where they cannot attract suitably qualified and available applicants. So, I think people growing up in Wales today face a different future than some of those who've gone before them, and the task for Government is to make sure that those young people are as well prepared as they possibly can be for the very many opportunities that I think will be there for them.

Protecting Habitats and Increasing Biodiversity

Altaf Hussain AS: 2. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to protect habitats and increase biodiversity? OQ59838

Altaf Hussain AS: I know we have many schools here who have taken part in conversations about climate change and biodiversity. They are here in the Pierhead, where they have had a great biodiversity day, and it's wonderful to—

Could the Member just ask the question on the paper first, please, and then you can add the supplementary?

Mark Drakeford AC: I thank Altaf Hussain.

Altaf Hussain AS: So, what steps is the Welsh Government—

Altaf, the question hasn't been answered yet.

Mark Drakeford AC: I thank the Member for his original question, Dirprwy Lywydd.
The Welsh Government supports a range of initiatives to protect habitats and increase biodiversity. That includes improving the condition and resilience of our protected sites, restoring peatland and completing our marine protected area network. Protecting habitats also benefits pollinators and iconic species such as the curlew and the pink sea fan.

Now you can ask your supplementary.

Altaf Hussain AS: Thank you for that answer, First Minister. Last week, I visited two very special sites in my region, both facing habitat destruction in order to meet competing needs. The first on was atop Craig y Pal mountain above Glais, which is home to many species on the red list, including red kites, bats and a whole host of flora and fauna. Yet, in the rush to renewables, this site is set to be destroyed to house a solar park. Just down the road, in West Cross, I visited the Clyne common and was blown away by their abundance of diversity. From rare butterflies to peat bogs, this site has it all: moorlands that are home to numerous rare birds, and wetlands that allow rare plants to thrive. And yet, once again, it is set to be destroyed by developers in order to meet the demand for affordable housing. First Minister, how can Wales say that it is committed to tackling the nature emergency and stick to the COP15 pledge if it allows the wanton destruction of such beautiful and diverse habitats?

Mark Drakeford AC: Well, Dirprwy Lywydd, can I first thank Altaf Hussain for what he said about the young people who have been in and around the Senedd today—Climate Challenge Cymru bringing those primary school children to award prizes? It's fantastic to see them here. I want to thank all of those schools who support those young people in taking part in that competition. As we know, there is no subject that young people respond to more passionately than the future of Wales in an era of climate change.
I thank Altaf Hussain as well, Dirprwy Lywydd, for drawing attention to the sites that he has visited. I followed what he said on the floor of the Senedd only a couple of weeks ago about the return of otters to the River Cynon, and his enthusiasm for the things that happen on the ground here in Wales is very valuable. I would just say this to him: there is no bigger threat to species of all sorts than climate change itself, and here is a difficult balancing act. We have to create a renewable energy future here in Wales because that is the way that we make our greatest contribution to tackling the risks that climate change brings to all species, including humankind. What we aim to do here in Wales is to strike that balance in the most careful way. I mustn't comment on specific issues that are part of a planning process, but I do know that the planning process is designed to make sure that we balance out the need for Wales's renewable energy future, while protecting those precious environments that we have on land and in the sea. While local people are always immensely proud of the nature that they have on their doorstep and very keen to protect it for the future, the planning system is there to make sure that their voices and their views are heard, and that a rounded decision is made that balances out all of the many competing considerations that have to be taken in mind while we are trying, at one and the same time, to play our part in creating that renewable energy future while increasing biodiversity and protecting habitats in the way that the Member said in his original question.

Delyth Jewell AC: A number of us were very content when you said that you would introduce a Bill for nature renewal and revival that would establish independent environmental governance. There was disappointment about the fact that this legislation wouldn't be introduced this year.

Delyth Jewell AC: So, Prif Weinidog, could give your commitment, please, that developing a White Paper on this Bill will be made a priority in the coming weeks and months, and that stakeholder engagement on its content will begin urgently, please, so that this Bill, when it does come forward—and I hope and expect that that will be in 2024—will be built upon expert input and shared understanding and that, as a result, the Bill that we get will get the support of the Senedd and will meet the ambition that we share of addressing the nature emergency? Diolch.

Mark Drakeford AC: Thank you to Delyth Jewell. As I explained a fortnight ago on the floor of the Senedd, there were a number of Bills that Cabinet members wanted to see included in the programme for the next legislative year, and at the end of the day, it was impossible to fit everything into that third year.

Mark Drakeford AC: But we are committed to that White Paper as a lead into the Bill itself, which will come in front of the Senedd,as we always said, within this Senedd term. Delyth Jewell, DirprwyLywydd, made a series of very important points about how that White Paper process can best be used to make sure that we have those debates and discussions with people who will have an interest in the environmental governance arrangements and in the biodiversity targets that we will include within the same Bill. The Minister, I know, is committed to using the White Paper as a way of engaging people in that debate and, therefore, making the Bill, when it comes before the Senedd in the final two years of the Seneddterm, as successful a Bill as it can be, and one that will command the widest possible support.

Vikki Howells AC: First Minister, to protect habitats, increase biodiversity and tackle the growing climate and nature emergencies, Wales will need to prepare for the future and ensure that we address current skills gaps in order to achieve that just transition towards a nature-positive economy. So, First Minister, can you outline what plans the Welsh Government have to develop a nature service for Wales?

Mark Drakeford AC: Thanks verymuch to Vikki Howells for those important points. Ensuring we have the right skills, knowledge and capacity is a vital part of how we will be able, effectively, to tackle the nature and the climate emergencies. The Welsh Government has already supported the development of a nature service for Wales. We've provided funding already for the scoping phase, and that scoping phase involved the design and development of a business case for longer term funding for the scheme. That business case has a number of strands within it, including delivering that nature service for Wales and, indeed, drawing on the experience of the Valleys Regional Park nature service demonstrator, which I know the Member will be very familiar with. We're committed to taking all that forward. Officials met with stakeholders leading all that work back in June, and we look forward to the appraisal of that business case and seeing what we will be able to do as a result of the work that's already been invested in it.

Carolyn Thomas AS: On Saturday 1 July, we celebrated National Meadows Day and the vital role they play in our ecosystems supporting biodiversity. Three to five times more carbon is stored within our grasslands than in our forests, and, unfortunately, 90 per cent of meadows in Wales have been lost. Wildlife is declining at an unprecedented rate, and one in six species in Wales are at risk of extinction, which is why we need to look at putting protections in place urgently and manage meadows, verges, amenity grass and even our own gardens in a different way. First Minister, would you join me in paying tribute to councils that are maintaining verges and amenity grass to allow a variety of species to thrive under our local nature partnerships and under their It's for Them campaign? It can be very difficult when facing social media negativity, and it's so important to bring people with us.

Mark Drakeford AC: I pay tribute to the work that the Member herself has carried out in this area. The It's for Them campaign is largely a result of her own efforts in galvanising that action by local authorities to change the way in which amenity grassland and verges are managed by them.
I think a couple of the statistics that Carolyn Thomas offered in the start of her supplementary question, Dirprwy Lywydd, bear repeating. One in six species in Wales is at risk of extinction. Ninety-seven per cent of all traditional lowland grassland meadows in Wales and England were lost between 1930 and 1987. It's hard to imagine, isn't it? Ninety-seven per cent lost in just a couple of generations.
We can't recapture all of that by simply putting back in place what was there before, but what we can do is use those verges, those meadows, those grasslands that are in local authority control, and, indeed, as Carolyn Thomas said, things we can do in our own gardens, to try to recreate some of those habitats that allow birds, small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, all the things that otherwise are at risk, to go on thriving here in Wales.
I do pay tribute to the work of local authorities and the changing way in which they are discharging their responsibilities. The campaign is called It’s for Them, but in many ways, it’s a campaign for all of us.

Questions Without Notice from the Party Leaders

I now call on party leaders to question the First Minister. First of all, we turn to the leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew R.T. Davies.

Andrew R.T. Davies AC: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. First Minister, last week the COVID inquiry heard from your good self and the then health Minister, now the economy Minister, on COVID preparedness. We heard from the Member for Cynon Valley that preparedness is a critical aspect of any Government’s thinking in bringing policy forward; in her case, she was questioning you on nature preparedness. Why would a Minister who’s responsible for the health portfolio not read his papers, and make sure that he was making the best-informed decisions to make sure that Wales was protected and had the best measures in place should we be hit by a pandemic?

Mark Drakeford AC: As I’ve explained to the leader of the opposition in the past, I don’t think it is right to replay the events of the inquiry here, or to offer a running commentary on the inquiry itself. Those were questions put at the inquiry using the legal powers that it has. Evidence is given under oath. I think it is important to respect the inquiry, and not to try and second-guess it or replay it outside its own parameters.
I'll answer the Member’s question, though, in this more general way: all Ministers, when they become responsible for a new portfolio, receive an enormous amount of information from their civil servants. It summarises a huge amount of what they will need to know. It indicates to them where they will need to do further and more in-depth reading, and Ministers follow that advice. Any suggestion that a Minister could embark upon a back catalogue of documents produced over a period of 15 years, and at the same time discharge their everyday responsibilities, simply does not reflect the way in which Government is conducted in Wales or in any other part of the United Kingdom.

Andrew R.T. Davies AC: The question was based on evidence given at a public inquiry. It is perfectly reasonable for Members to come to this Chamber with information that is in the public domain and question the Government's response on it.
Today, we've had the unemployment numbers come out. The Minister for Economy is responsible, obviously, for making key decisions in that portfolio that will affect the economic prospects and the employment prospects of people the length and breadth of Wales. If he's shown in other portfolios he is not across his brief, how can we have confidence that he is going to be able to deal with the economic picture that's unfolding here in Wales?
For the third month running, Wales has had the highest unemployment figures of any part of the United Kingdom. So, what is the Government doing to address what is an emerging pattern, that Wales does have the highest unemployment of any part of the United Kingdom? And when you look at the north-east of England, where we are constantly looked upon as economic comparators, they have declining unemployment there, and greater employment. So, what can we learn from the north-east of England to make sure we improve the employment prospects of people here in Wales?

Mark Drakeford AC: What we learn from the economy of the United Kingdom, in every part of it, is that the Tories have crashed the economy and that people in every part of the United Kingdom face a future in which the Bank of England has decided to induce a recession in order to deal with the inflationary pressures that his Government has allowed to gather inside the UK economy. Ministers here need no lessons from elsewhere—the economy Minister or anybody else—in how to discharge our responsibilities, when we see today mortgage costs going up—[Interruption.]

One second, please. Can backbenchers on the Government side and in other parties please allow the First Minister to answer the question that was put to him? He does need to shout because you were talking too much, to be blunt. Let's keep it quiet, calm down, and let the First Minister speak.

Mark Drakeford AC: Dirprwy Lywydd, the pressures inside the UK economy are enormous. Mortgage rates today have risen above the rate they were at the depths of the Liz Truss crisis. That has an impact on every family in every part of Wales who have a mortgage to pay. And on the signs in unemployment figures, mixed as they are today, the leader of the opposition always unerringly picks out the one figure that he thinks will put Wales in the worst possible light. There are other figures in that same series that show that employment rose in Wales last month, again, and at a more rapid rate than in other parts of the United Kingdom. There are figures in the same series, published today, that show that economic inactivity declined last month in Wales again. The picture is mixed here in Wales, as it is elsewhere, but the background to it is clear everywhere. The mismanagement of the UK economy is having an impact directly in the lives of families in every part of the United Kingdom, and his party and his Government in Westminster are responsible for it.

Andrew R.T. Davies AC: The mismanagement of the Welsh economy lies fairly and squarely in your ballpark, First Minister, for 25 years of inaction to improve the economic prospects of people in Wales. I appreciate you have an employment package available to create an extra 36 more politicians in this place, and I appreciate the economy Minister is trying to enhance his own employment prospects by campaigning to be the next First Minister of Wales, but I would recommend that he focuses on the day job and starts creating better employment prospects for people here in Wales, so that we can arrest the rise in unemployment that sees us leading the pack for all the wrong reasons.
I ask you again, First Minister: what is the Welsh Government doing to increase the skill base and employment prospects for people the length and breadth of Wales? Only last week, there was a survey out that showed that, in the top 50 cities, Cardiff came twenty-seventh and Swansea came fiftieth for employment prospects and economic prospects. Sadly, it was a lack of skills that held many of these potential people back from acquiring quality jobs that ultimately could pay decent wages. So, what, after 25 years of Labour running the Welsh economy into the ground, is the First Minister and his part-time economy Minister doing to arrest that decline?

Mark Drakeford AC: The smell of burning midnight oil over those sorts of cheap gibes is to be found everywhere in the Chamber. He needs a better scriptwriter, and he has for a long time. The reason that the Labour Party has been in charge of the economy in Wales for 25 years, Dirprwy Lywydd, is because the people of Wales return Labour Governments at successive elections. They know what the Tories' message for Wales is, always: 'If it's Wales, it's worse.' That's the only thing they ever have to say to people in Wales, and every time, people in Wales reject what they have to say. His performance today will simply resonate in the ears of people in every part of Wales facing, as they do, galloping inflation, fuel and energy prices higher than ever before, an induced recession in order to deal with the mess that they have made—that's what people outside will hear—and austerity, which has held their wages down and put their benefits to the lowest level in 50 years. What people outside this Chamber know is that the biggest thing that can happen to help the Welsh economy is a Labour Government, and everything we've heard today will help people to come to that conclusion.

Leader of Plaid Cymru, Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Rhun ap Iorwerth AC: Thank you very much, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'd like to ask some questions on broader issues around the Zimmer Biomet announcement on the hundreds of job losses in Bridgend—disastrous news for the local workforce, of course, but also for the broader economy. Can the First Minister tell us what proactive work was done by the Welsh Government before that announcement in order to understand the viability and stability of the company and where this work in Bridgend fitted into the company's broader plans?

Mark Drakeford AC: As the local Member has already said to the Senedd this afternoon, the announcement by the company came as a shock to the people who worked for the company. There was nothing that had been said to us in Government here in Cardiff, but nothing had been said, as we've heard from Members of the Conservatives this afternoon, to the Government in Westminster either. So, without any of the information ahead of the announcement by the company, we had no chance, and nor did anybody else, to prepare with the company about what they have currently proposed.

Rhun ap Iorwerth AC: I heard what the local Members, Luke Fletcher and Huw Irranca-Davies, said about that situation, but I do think it's quite clear that the Welsh Government's finger isn't on the pulse in terms of a company and an employer that was so very important. And it happens too often. Literally, from Anglesey to Monmouthshire, from the 2 Sisters to Avara Food, and now Zimmer Biomet, we see major employers withdrawing and leaving economic scars, and the unemployment figures confirm a very worrying pattern.

Rhun ap Iorwerth AC: Today's figures show that Wales has the highest unemployment rate in the UK, the highest in five years, rising for a third month running. But, again, with Zimmer Biomet, we've seen what appears to be a lack of engagement by Welsh Government to look out for those warning signs. We need those warning mechanisms. And it raises questions too about the tracking of public funds given to businesses. Zimmer Biomet received £700,000 of taxpayers’ money in 2016.
Now, I wrote last week about the Government's resistance to scrutiny, and that was in the context of its COVID record, but equally, the Government itself has to scrutinise what's going on in the Welsh economy. So, what steps are being taken, proactively, in all parts of Wales, gauging the health and viability of key businesses, to avoid another Zimmer Biomet and show that you've learnt from this experience?

Mark Drakeford AC: Well, Dirprwy Lywydd, it's nonsense, isn't it? It's just plain nonsense. The company made its decision to announce its intentions without a single word to the Welsh Government, to its own employees, to the UK Government. There's no finger on any pulse that is going to detect an announcement that a company is determined to make on its own terms and without informing anybody else. And to suggest that, somehow, there was intelligence there to be collected if only someone was alert to it simply does not reflect at all what happened in this case. Of course, the Welsh Government has, through its regional economic arrangements, people in every part of Wales who talk every single day to companies throughout Wales, sometimes about the difficulties that they are experiencing, sometimes about the expansion plans that they have. And in all those parts of Wales, those conversations amount to the richest source of intelligence that a Government can gather about where difficulties are likely to arise, and where Government investment, of the sort that was made once in Biomet, can be made to best effect. That's the way we conduct our responsibilities. To suggest that when a company, on its own terms and within its own rights, decides it will make an announcement without engaging with any of those on-the-ground arrangements, I'm afraid the responsibility lies with them, and nobody else.

Rhun ap Iorwerth AC: I fully recognise what the First Minister says—that sometimes businesses aren't as transparent as we'd like them to be. But I'm disappointed that the First Minister isn't putting his hands up and saying, 'Yes, we need to do more to get our finger on the pulse and put those warning mechanisms in place'. My vision for Wales is of an economically resilient nation, proactive in both spotting risks and in seizing opportunities.
Now, the transition to net-zero provides many opportunities. Certainly, I want to see serious action on decarbonising and on supporting companies that want to protect and create jobs through protecting the planet. Now, we know that the Prime Minister, according to one Tory Minister, is apathetic about tackling climate change. That's 'apathetic'. And Keir Starmer’s u-turn on his green prosperity plan doesn't bode well should Labour come into power either. Now, we should all be very, very nervous to hear alarm bells ring at Tata Steel in the past few days. So, we have the Tory UK Government not providing the kinds of promises on future green subsidies that Tata would like to hear, we have the Keir Starmer u-turn, and Welsh Government says it can't step in. Who are people meant to trust? Let me ask this: given the u-turn, how would the Labour First Minister here expect a Labour UK Government to approach discussions with Tata? And, frankly, is the First Minister happy for the key economic levers to continue to reside at Westminster?

Mark Drakeford AC: Well, Dirprwy Lywydd, there is no u-turn on the part of my colleagues at Westminster. There is a green prosperity fund; the intention is that it will rise to £28 billion a year in investment in the green economy, and that the next Labour Government, when it comes—and, of course, I think it cannot come soon enough—it will inevitably have to deal with the consequences of the failures that we see in the economy every day. The UK Labour Party's determination to invest in that green economy is undiminished, but it will have to deal with the economic circumstances that it inherits.
Warning signs out of Tata, Dirprwy Lywydd, have not emerged in the last few days; it is months and months since I met with the Minister for Economy with the head of Tata India during a visit to Wales. I was in correspondence with the last Prime Minister but two, I think, about it at the time, asking the UK Government to take seriously the warnings that Tata India were providing to us about long-term investment that is needed at that Tata site in Port Talbot. Now, I urge the UK Government, as I did when I spoke on this matter to Michael Gove only two weeks ago at the British Irish Council, to take those warnings seriously, to enter into purposeful negotiations with the company.
There is a promising future for steel making in Wales, and no country that is not prepared to invest in a steel industry can expect seriously to be taken as a global economic force. Wales has an enormous amount to contribute to that, but it will need resources of a sort that are only available with the firepower that a UK Government can bring to bear. That is why it is still sensible for us to go on working with that UK Government, because the level of investment that the company will require in order to create a pathway, a successful pathway to steel making for the future, relies on a tripartite arrangement. The company themselves will make major investment; the Welsh Government will make investments in the areas where we have responsibility, in skills, in research and development, in making sure that those green technologies are accelerated at the Tata site, and then we need a UK Government willing to make that long-term investment, to demonstrate that it is serious about the future of a steel industry for the United Kingdom and a steel industry fit for the era of climate change.

People with Learning Disabilities

Sioned Williams AS: 3. How does the Welsh Government ensure that people with learning disabilities have access to public transport? OQ59851

Mark Drakeford AC: I thank Sioned Williams for that question. We learn directly from people with learning disabilities so that we can address the barriers they have faced for too long in using public transport. The disability equality forum has a specific focus on travel and will report its findings directly to Ministers.

Sioned Williams AS: Thank you, First Minister.

Sioned Williams AS: I'm glad to hear that you're listening to people with learning disabilities, because in a meeting I chaired recently of the Senedd cross-party group on learning disability, we heard distressing evidence that people with a learning disability have been struggling to get their bus passes renewed following an apparent change to the way they're being issued from local authorities to Transport for Wales. Many of these people have had bus passes for a long time and have never had any problem renewing them, but when trying to renew them recently, their applications have been rejected without being given a reason. We heard reports that holders had been asked to prove their eligibility again, long before their passes are due to expire. We even heard of bus drivers removing a person's bus pass and refusing to allow them to travel without any valid explanation. This has led to a fear among people with a learning disability that they will not be able to safely travel to where they need to be.
A learning disability is lifelong. If you were eligible previously, then you should be eligible now. We heard concerns that there was a move towards relying on Department for Work and Pensions assessments, which makes no sense from a social model of disability perspective.Last month, Learning Disability Wales sent a freedom of information request to Transport for Wales asking why this was happening. They denied that there had been any changes to the way they're being issued. So, why then, Prif Weinidog, are people with a learning disability or neurodivergence struggling to get their bus passes renewed? Will you urgently address this?

Mark Drakeford AC: Well, Dirprwy Lywydd, I thank the Member for the work she does chairing that cross-party group, and I agree with her: it is very important indeed that we hear directly from those people with lived experience of learning disability and other forms of disability that play an important part in being able to access our transport system and, indeed, the services that we provide in a way that is as readily available to them as possible. I too have heard accounts of people who say that practice has changed in the way that bus passes have been issued. Let me be very clear with the Member: the policy has not changed; the policy of the Welsh Government remains as it always has been.
I too have asked previously for an assurance from Transport for Wales that the practice hasn't changed either, and that is exactly what they said to me, that they continue to operate the system as they always have. But, in the light of further information from people with a learning disability, of the experiences they have had, I have asked officials to have a further discussion with Transport for Wales and to make sure that we have the assurances that we need that they are administering the scheme in the way that we would like to see it administered, in line with the Welsh Government policy and with no moves that appear to make it more difficult for people with learning disabilities to obtain the rights to which they are entitled.

Mark Isherwood AC: Equivalent practice applies to the disabled person's concessionary travel card. The social model of disability should be guiding everything done by service providers in all sectors, recognising that people are not disabled by their impairments but by the barriers to access and inclusion that society places in their way.
Research for the UK Department for Transport has shown that people with access needs, including disabled people with cognitive impairments, encompassing difficulties with learning, are still less likely to travel and feel less confident about travelling than people without access needs. The 2020 Equality and Human Rights Commission report, 'Accessible transport for older and disabled people in Wales', found that equality considerations for disabled people were not given enough importance in public transport in Wales. It found that the Welsh Government had demonstrated good aspirations for accessible and inclusive public transport, but the implementation thus far had been poor.
So, what engagement are you having with public transport providers in Wales, including Transport for Wales and local authorities, over the disabled person's concessionary travel card, to ensure that Welsh Government strategies for inclusion are implemented? And what actions will you also take to certify that all Welsh Government transport policies comply with the social model of disability?

Mark Drakeford AC: Well, Dirprwy Lywydd, I agree with the Member about the fundamental importance of the social model of disability being felt in all the policies that we provide, and then the way that those policies are delivered. I said in my original answer that the disability rights taskforce has itself established a travel working group; it's co-chaired by Guide Dogs Cymru, and it includes representatives with lived experience of learning disability on that group. The group has met four times already; it met last on 28 June. It feeds its views into the taskforce as a whole, and the taskforce reports directly to my colleague Jane Hutt.
I think Mark Isherwood would be pleased to see that, on the agenda of that last meeting on 28 June, the very first aspect of the agenda was a reaffirmation of the need to embody co-production and recognise the social model of disability in the work of that group itself. It heard directly from transport providers in the field and it will have taken that opportunity to make sure that the experience of people with disabilities using our public transport system was communicated directly to those who provide those services in the field. And, in the way that Sioned Williams said in her original question, making sure that the views and the direct experiences of people in those circumstances are heard loud and clear, in the way that services are provided, is fundamental to the work of that disability taskforce.

Ken Skates AC: First Minister, we know that people with learning difficulties and other people who face disabling barriers in life hugely value the presence and assistance of staff at railway stations. Would you agree with me, therefore, that it'll be a source of reassurance to them to hear that Transport for Wales have no plans whatsoever to reduce the number of staff at stations that they manage here in Wales, and, indeed, where they manage them in England? And in stark contrast, the Department for Transport in England have announced the wholesale closure of ticket offices at stations managed by them.

Mark Drakeford AC: Llywydd, I absolutely do agree with what Ken Skates has said. Almost 900 ticket offices in England are affected by the announcement of the Department for Transport in what many people regard as simply a retaliatory measure in the ongoing industrial dispute that the UK Government fails to settle in the transport industry. Here in Wales, we proceed, as the Member knows, through social partnership, working closely with our trade union colleagues. We achieve far more by working together than forcing through changes as part of ongoing industrial disputes.
I'm able to confirm exactly what Ken Skates said, Dirprwy Lywydd; Transport for Wales does not plan to make similar changes to ticket offices in Wales, or indeed to the ticket offices that they manage in England—in Chester, in Hereford and in Shrewsbury, for example—because we know that particularly for those people who may struggle to access services for people who are able bodied, then the presence of staff on the station able to respond directly to their requirements is a very important part of how they are able to access services in the way that we have discussed here this afternoon.

Healthcare

Tom Giffard AS: 4. How does the Welsh Government ensure that people in South Wales West have access to adequate healthcare? OQ59847

Mark Drakeford AC: Dirprwy Lywydd, with the NHS, the Welsh Government work to improve access to services, using advances in technology to help make that happen. Video consultations and remote working, for example, improve access and reduce time and travel costs, allowing more patients to receive clinically effective care closer to their own homes.

Tom Giffard AS: I thank the First Minister for his answer, but one thing I didn't hear in his response was a recognition of the hard work the staff in the NHS do on a daily basis, and they're what makes our Welsh NHS work. But they're routinely being let down by a Welsh Labour Government that mismanages our NHS here in Wales. The First Minister's catchphrase at one point was that in Wales, we do things differently. Well, let's see that difference. We have more than 31,000 people in Wales spending over two years on NHS waiting lists, whereas in England they've been effectively eliminated. One in 289 people that arrive in A&E end up waiting more than 12 hours. In England, that's one in 1,278. And whilst the Welsh Government is given £1.20 for every £1 spent in England to fund the NHS, the Welsh Government chooses to short change our health service by giving it £1.05. On nearly every metric, the NHS in Wales under this Labour Government consistently underperforms the rest of Britain. It's a national scandal. Why, First Minister, should this be something we just have to put up with because we're Welsh?

Mark Drakeford AC: Well, Llywydd, they're at it again. They only have one message for people in Wales: 'Vote for us: we think you're awful. If it's Wales, it's worse.' [Interruption.] No, no, no—it's not 'we're awful'. What you don't—[Interruption.] If we were so awful we wouldn't be winning elections time after time after time. [Interruption.]

I would like to hear the answer from the First Minister.

Mark Drakeford AC: That is your message for people in Wales, and he was at it again. Just listen to what he said—just listen to what he said—'People in Wales are given'—are given—'£1.20 for every £1 that is spent in Wales.' What a colonial mentality lies behind that way of thinking. Here we are, some sort of client state of his idea of a United Kingdom. No wonder—no wonder—the Conservative Party is in the mess that it is in. In that last opinion poll that YouGov carried out, do you remember what percentage of people under 45 intend to vote for your party at the next election? Do you remember that? It was 7 per cent. Those are people who use the NHS every day here in Wales, and they've decided what they think about you.

The Cost-of-living Crisis

Jayne Bryant AC: 5. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on Newport West? OQ59855

Mark Drakeford AC: Llywydd, we support households in Newport West who are grappling with the impact of UK Government decisions. Low growth, high interest rates, galloping inflation and punitive welfare policies are causing preventable harm. Here in Wales we have provided £3.3 billion to maximise people's incomes since that crisis began.

Jayne Bryant AC: Thank you for that answer, Prif Weinidog. According to the latest reports on jobs by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, the availability of candidates for new jobs rose in June at the sharpest rate since December 2020. The number of people placed in permanent jobs by recruitment agencies fell, and wage growth dropped to its weakest rate in more than two years. As the cost-of-living crisis continues, with no relief in sight for those on low incomes, no relief in sight for homeowners or renters, and no relief in sight for an economy being battered by inflation and the impact of Brexit, Prif Weinidog, what hope can Jeremy Hunt or Rishi Sunak possibly offer people in my constituency paying the price of the UK Government’s failure? Because that is a national scandal.

Mark Drakeford AC: Well, there is no hope to be obtained from those sources, as they themselves are at pains to say. What sort of message will it have sent to people in Newport West, Dirprwy Lywydd, working hard every day to pay the extra £650 in taxes every year that they will now pay since April of this year, to pay the mortgages set to rise to the highest total in many, many years, when they see at the Mansion House—at the Mansion House in their white ties—the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Governor of the Bank of England saying to working people that they must be prepared to go on having wages that are eroded in their real value every year to pay for the costs of their failures? No wonder people in Newport West know that there is no hope at all to be gained from those sources.
And what they know as well is that things are about to get worse. Here is what Andy Haldane, the chief economist of the Bank of England just a short time ago, says about the strategy being pursued by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Bank of England: that they are determined to squeeze the last few drops out of inflation, meaning
'sacrificing many thousands of jobs for negligible benefit.'
'Over a decade ago, in pursuit of lower debt, the UK enacted fiscal austerity. This ruptured growth and was self-defeating for debt. Today, in pursuit of lower inflation, monetary austerity risks the same fate',
putting at risk the financial security of millions of people. Those are not my words, Dirprwy Lywydd, those are not the words of some Labour politician, they are the words of a former chief economist at the Bank of England. No wonder there is no hope for people in Wales when they see a recession—a deliberately induced recession—coming their way in order to deal with the failures of 13 years of Conservative Government.

Natasha Asghar AS: First Minister, if there is anything that we can do to help residents with the cost-of-living pressures it must be welcomed, and I am proud to see the support that we've had from the UK Government, contrary to popular belief in this Chamber. However, instead of helping families at this difficult time, it does seem to me that the Welsh Government is actually making things harder, and I'll explain why. It's because your Government has recently made substantial cuts in the school essentials grant, which provides help to some of the least well-off families in the country. By cutting this vital grant of £100 it means parents now have to find more money to pay for uniform, sports kit and equipment for their children. Some parents have warned that they simply cannot afford to send their children to school every day, and the cut to this grant comes after the Government here in Wales decided to halt free school meals to those who needed them the most. So, First Minister, will you reverse this £100 cut and stop penalising parents?

Mark Drakeford AC: Llywydd, I was very proud to be finance Minister when we introduced the school essentials grant for the first time. We introduced it for one year in a child's school career, when they went into secondary school. The Conservative Party, by the way, voted against it in that budget. Then we doubled it, so that it was available in two school years, and they voted against that. Then, we voted to double it again, to four of a child's school years. Now, we have it in every single school year—the most generous form of support for parents with the costs of the school day anywhere in the United Kingdom. That's what parents know, and what they know as well is that, every time that there was a chance to support that, your party voted against it.

Free School Meals

Hefin David AC: 6. Will the First Minister make a statement on free school meal provision in Caerphilly? OQ59841

Mark Drakeford AC: I thank Hefin David for that question. Caerphilly council continues to provide an excellent school meals service for students across the area. It will complete the roll-out of universal free school meals in primary schools by September of this year. It is a Wales-leading authority in using data to link entitlement across council services, including entitlement to free school meals.

Hefin David AC: I'm very pleased to say that a report will go to Caerphilly council's Cabinet this evening—or tomorrow evening, I think it might be—that Caerphilly will fund free school meals during the summer holidays for the most vulnerable people. I think that Caerphilly council is to be congratulated for taking that, for using their reserves to do it, and other councils should be encouraged to do the same. After this summer, what alternative sources of support are available for the most vulnerable children through the holidays, and has the First Minister had any discussion, or has he got any plans to have any discussion, with Plaid Cymru about whether there is any leeway within the co-operation agreement to fund additional support during the school holidays?

Mark Drakeford AC: I thank Hefin David for those further questions. As I said, I think Caerphilly council does an excellent job in making sure that those young people within the borough who qualify for free school meals get that entitlement as automatically as possible. It's a leading authority in using data to make automatic links between entitlement for free school meals and the school essentials grant. I do congratulate them on what they will be doing over this summer, as I congratulate local authorities in every part of Wales, for the activity that will continue to respond to the needs of our young people.
The Food and Fun programme will be the largest programme we have ever seen this summer. It will be happening in every part of Wales, and thousands more children will benefit from it this summer than were able to benefit from it last year. The Playworks holiday project, which also offers food to young people who participate in it saw 38,000 young people participate in it last year, and that will be available in every part of Wales for the first time—all 22 local authorities taking part in both of those schemes.
Dirprwy Lywydd, I commend as well those many third sector and faith groups in every part of Wales who play their part in helping young people during that summer holiday period. The Welsh Rugby Union will be helping young people, and there'll be food involved in that. The Urdd will be operating schemes in every part of Wales, and, in every constituency, I will be confident that faith groups will be there, offering services to young people who need that.
So, while we have not been able to do more than we originally promised to do in relation to free school meals during school holidays, that does not mean that there is not support there for young people who need it. The last time we were able to extend free school meals during the school holidays further was because we were able to use an underspend in the universal free school meals budget, which is part of the co-operation agreement.
Partly because of the success of councils like Caerphilly, which will have succeeded in extending that service to all primary school age children a year earlier than in other parts of Wales, there are no underspends left in that budget to deploy for that purpose. But, of course, we always are involved in discussions with our Plaid Cymru colleagues—I know that Siân Gwenllian was involved in such discussions just this week—to find the best way in which we can deploy the budgets that we have available to us.

Summer Holiday Free Swimming Provision

Jenny Rathbone AC: 7. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the summer holiday free swimming provision for children in Cardiff? OQ59834

Mark Drakeford AC: Dirprwy Lywydd, as with the other 21 local authorities across Wales, Cardiff Council will be offering free swimming sessions to children and young people throughout the school summer holidays.

Jenny Rathbone AC: Thank you, First Minister. Whilst I'm looking forward to spending more time with my family before they forget my name—as I'm sure other people are during recess—my mood is tempered by the fact that, as a result of the Tory cost-of-living crisis, at least a third of families in my constituency will not be able to take a holiday anywhere. So, that is why I regard the free swimming option as really, really important, because it gives children something to do locally.
Now, in the past, I have to say that trying to extract the details of when the free swimming was on offer used to be like pulling hens' teeth—it was like a state secret. But I am very pleased to learn that, this year, the six swimming pools currently run by GLL on behalf of Cardiff Council will offer free swimming sessions for at least four days of the week, and, in two cases, at Star and Eastern pools, they're going to be open every single day during the six-week holiday. That's a really fantastic achievement. As swimming is the sport that everybody can do, despite the disability or competency, and one of the best ways in which we can help safeguard the NHS being free at the point of need by staying as healthy as possible, could I make a plea to the Welsh Government, as it faces really, really difficult financial decisions, caused by the underfunding coming from the UK Government, that you will, as far as possible, safeguard this really vital service for children?

Mark Drakeford AC: Dirprwy Lywydd, this year, we celebrate the twentieth year of free swimming for children here in Wales, and hundreds of thousands of young people will have benefited from that over the 20-year period. I too am very pleased to see that, across those six leisure centres, there will be opportunities every single day for young people in Cardiff to have a free swim, for all the reasons that Jenny Rathbone has outlined. I do think more can be done to publicise those sessions, to make sure that local authorities let young people know the opportunities that will be available to them. We work closely with Sport Wales and with Swim Wales. They report a strong recovery in swimming in the post-pandemic period, which means that, this summer, those opportunities will be even more valuable. And I'm very happy to offer an assurance to Jenny Rathbone that the Welsh Government will continue to publicise that scheme and to do everything we can to make sure that it's available to young people throughout Wales.

And finally, question 8, Peredur Owen Griffiths.

Child Poverty

Peredur Owen Griffiths AS: 8. How is the Government planning to alleviate child poverty in South Wales East over the school summer holidays? OQ59858

Mark Drakeford AC: Dirprwy Lywydd, this summer, a wide range of holiday projects will be available for children across Wales. We are providing nearly £6 million in funding to deliver the food and fun scheme, and the playworks holiday project will be available in all 22 local authority areas for the first time.

Peredur Owen Griffiths AS: Thank you for that answer.

Peredur Owen Griffiths AS: And of course, the food and fun, the point around that is that it might not get to everybody who needs it, so it's something that needs to be looked at. And, obviously, the other issue around free school meal vouchers, the announcement coming with just three weeks to go, that was a worry as well. And when it comes to free school meals within the co-operation agreement—. And, obviously, feeding kids over the summer was outside the co-operation agreement, and was funded through the COVID moneys that came through.
The fact is, First Minister, we are in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis. Many households are predicted to experience a drop of 20 per cent in household income, things will get much worse before they get any better, and there's much need in the communities that I represent. We should be doing all we can to ensure that children are fed during the school summer holidays, which are expensive for families—and Caerphilly council is commended for finding that money.
Would this Government consider issuing guidance to local authorities for them to use cash reserves, especially when they're worth hundreds of millions of pounds, in order to ensure that kids are fed over the summer? And where that's not possible, due to financial constraints, can an emergency fund be set up for local authorities to access for those most vulnerable?

Mark Drakeford AC: Well, Dirprwy Lywydd, as I explained earlier, the food and fun scheme will reach more children this summer than last summer by thousands. The food and fun scheme only operates because of local authorities. The Welsh Local Government Association has been the lead in making sure that that scheme takes place throughout Wales, and there was no announcement three weeks ago, because the Welsh Government was clear when we were able to extend free school meals in the holidays, through Easter and through Whitsun, that that was the extent of our ability to do that, and that was months ago, not three weeks ago.
There are many, many calls on the budgets of the Welsh Government.I recall, Dirprwy Lywydd, outside the co-operation agreement, that Plaid Cymnru set down their three priorities for the budget beyond the co-operation agreement. They were public sector pay, they were funding buses and they were extending the EMA—the educational maintenance allowance. We have settled pay disputes in the health service and in the education service, we are providing £44 million to go on sustaining bus services, and we have raised the education maintenance allowance from £30 to £40 a week. Those were Plaid Cymru's priorities, not extending free school meals during the holidays.
Now, you can be sure, that on this side of the Chamber, there is nothing we would want to do more than to do more than we are able to help those families through the summer, but, in the end, the budgets we have are constrained, and when people declare priorities, they have to live with the priorities that they have declared. We will work with our local authorities, with all the things that are already in place, with the extra things that they are able to mobilise with the third sector, and wider contributions that are made to helping young people in Wales through the holiday and, in that way, we will maximise the impact we are able to make in the lives of those young people.

I thank the First Minister.

2. Business Statement and Announcement

Next, we have the business statement and announcement, and I call on the Trefnydd, Lesley Griffiths.

Lesley Griffiths AC: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Tomorrow, the Business Committee will seek a suspension of Standing Orders to enable us to consider three motions relating to Senedd committees. Draft business for the next three weeks of the autumn term is set out on the business statement and announcement, which can be found amongst the meeting papers available to Members electronically.

Darren Millar AC: Trefnydd, can I call for two statements this week? Over the past few days, I've received a number of e-mails from constituents about reports in relation to Conwy County Borough Council spending £620,000 with what appears to be an inappropriate level of democratic scrutiny. It looks like that scrutiny has been circumvented. This was in relation to the establishment of a new 3G pitch at Parc Eirias in Colwyn Bay. Now, of course, I welcome any investment in my constituency, but it is important that local councillors don't play fast and loose with taxpayers' money, especially when they've imposed a 9.9 per cent record-breaking increase on council tax payers in the local authority area this year. I do think it would be appropriate to have a statement from the Minister for Finance and Local Government about what she is doing to make sure that democratic processes are not circumvented in the future.
Can I also call for a statement from the Minister for Social Justice on the way in which the Welsh Government conducts its public consultation processes? There was a statement issued, last week, by the Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism on the statutory licensing scheme for all visitor accommodation in Wales. It was a welcome update that gave a report on the outcome of the public consultation on the Welsh Government's plans. I was astonished to read in that report that there were no references to the representations that were made by faith groups about the need for an exemption for the very basic and simple accommodation—overnight accommodation—that is often provided by churches, chapels and other faith communities for those on pilgrimage in Wales. This was an issue that was absolutely referred to in responses by different members of faith communities and, indeed, by the cross-party group on faith itself, yet there was no reference to it whatsoever in the report that was shared by the Deputy Minister. Can we have a statement on what the Welsh Government does in these public consultations, because it is important that people feel that their voices are listened to and that they do influence the decisions that are taken by Government Ministers? Thank you.

Lesley Griffiths AC: Thank you. In relation to your first request, your phrase was 'inappropriate level of democratic scrutiny'.Well, that is a matter for Conwy County Borough Council as to how they decide to spend the money that is allocated to them.
In response to your second question, with any public consultation that any Minister undertakes, there is always a publication of responses, and I would assume that the responses to which you refer from faith groups or even individual churches would be part of that response. But I will certainly check that that is the case.

Heledd Fychan AS: Trefnydd, reflecting on all the comments we've just heard around concerns over the free school meal provision during school holidays, could I ask for a statement clarifying what support is available, how we can signpost families and also clarity for local foodbanks that have contacted me, really concerned that stocks are running low, that they're not prepared for the summer and uncertain what advice to give families that are already desperate? Because I think if we reflect on the discussion that's just been, it just shows it's not just a cost-of-living crisis, but, genuinely, an emergency in many communities, and that clarity is needed, please.
And, secondly, linked to this, I'd like to ask for a statement from the Minister for Social Justice around period poverty, and specifically the availability of period products over the summer. They are widely available for free in our schools, though there have been some barriers for people to be able to access those. We've heard from a number of campaigners, such as the Love Your Period campaign, that school holidays, in particular, can be problematic. So, can I ask that we highlight where free products are available and ensure that no child or young person goes hungry this summer, but neither are they denied their period dignity?

Lesley Griffiths AC: Thank you. Well, in relation to the issue you raise about foodbanks, it's certainly a very serious issue, because I think we've all seen withfoodbanks across our constituencies that they haven't been as well stocked as they had previously, because, obviously, everybody is impacted by the cost-of-living crisis, but I know the Minister for Social Justice continues to do all she can to support our foodbanks right across the country.
I think the point you raise about period poverty is very important, because, as you say, schools have those products available freely, and what happens in school holidays. I will ask the Minister for Social Justice to ensure that guidance is given as to where those products will be available, and if she perhaps would consider putting forward a written statement.

Jack Sargeant AC: Sadly, lastSeptember, Deeside lost another young person far too soon. If I'm being completely honest, I'm struggling to come to terms with the fact that I lost my best friend Jamie Wynnelast September. But Jamie's local grass-roots football team, Connah's Quay Town Football Club, have decided they want to help people talk about their own mental health, the stigma around mental health, and to signpost them to further support. The club have put together a leaflet, highlighting and directing people to Samaritans, to Mind and to Shout or even to their own well-being champions within the club. Trefnydd, I'd love to see this initiative being carried out across Cymru. Can I ask for the Welsh Government to make a statement on how they can support such initiatives across Wales?

Lesley Griffiths AC: Thank you. I think it's really valuable for organisations such as Connah's Quay Town Football Club to make sure that individuals are aware of what support is already on offer. I think it's great that they're doing this in Jamie's name going forward. We'll certainly look, as part of our continued multisectoral working, at how we can expand this further as we further develop our approach to suicide prevention.

Mark Isherwood AC: I call for a single Welsh Government statement on the means testing of military compensation received by the armed forces community. Last week, the Royal British Legion launched its Credit their Service campaign, aiming to address the treatment of military compensation as income across welfare means tests. A hundred and fifty thousand members of the armed forces community receive military compensation awarded to support the ongoing costs of an illness or injury acquired in service. Means testing results in some of the poorest members of the armed forces community being denied thousands of pounds of support, while civil compensation such as for personal injury or medical negligence is exempt from this. In 2011, the UK Government pledged the armed forces covenant—obviously, the Welsh Government also did this—and they promised to ensure that members of the armed forces community should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services. Royal British Legion is therefore urging Welsh local authorities to use existing discretionary powers to ensure that military compensation is never treated as income in means tests for locally administered benefits. I believe some authorities are doing that, but many are not, and the Welsh Government also they’re calling to work with the UK Government to amend benefit regulations to ensure that no member of the armed forces community in Wales has their compensation—

Mark, can you conclude now, please?

Mark Isherwood AC: —treated as income by any means-tested benefits. I call for a statement accordingly in the context of the calls on the Welsh Government and local authorities here.

Lesley Griffiths AC: Thank you. The Deputy Minister for Social Partnership is very aware of the Royal British Legion Credit their Service campaign, and I know her officials have met with the charity, and are continuing to work closely with the armed forces expert group, the armed forces liaison officers, and all our partners across Wales to uphold the principle of the armed forces covenant. This is a UK-wide issue, but there are obvious implications for areas where Welsh Government leads, and the campaign really cuts across several policy areas, and we will need to assess the issues raised.

Delyth Jewell AC: I'd like a statement, please, addressing concerns raised by Marie Curie that people with a terminal illness will be facing a winter of increased stress because of high energy bills. They're not guaranteed support from the Warm Homes programme and I'd like to see that changed, please. Ninety-four per cent of Marie Curie nurses say that they've cared for patients who are struggling with finances and that that worry about how they'll keep warm will add another burden onto people who are dying, who are falling into poverty as they die. I'm sorry that that's an upsetting way to put it, but I don't think we can shy away from the harsh reality here. Nearly a quarter of Marie Curie staff say that they fear financial insecurity has hastened the deterioration in some of their patients' conditions. The eligibility criteria for the programme isn't clear on whether people in this situation will be guaranteed extra support to make them comfortable in what will be, for some, their final weeks or months. Please could a statement address this, so that people with a terminal illness and their families can have this certainty that that, at least, is one fewer thing that they have to worry about?

Lesley Griffiths AC: Thank you. The Member raises a very important point. We know that often a cancer diagnosis does bring with it severe financial implications. People may not be able to work and they might have further costs for energy. You mentioned energy specifically, so we do absolutely understand the charities that bring forward this information to us, and their concerns. Obviously, we are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, and you will be aware of the significant help that Welsh Government is bringing to people in Wales to help with the cost-of-living crisis, but we can only do so much.

Carolyn Thomas AS: Yesterday I visited the Welsh Government's forest estate at Coed Moel Famau, where large areas of larch trees are being clear felled due to larch disease elsewhere in the forest. Felling was postponed because of nesting birds. There are six species of bat and goshawks nesting. This particular area is rich in biodiversity as it's being managed sustainably through continuous cover forestry, providing many ecosystems such as flood prevention, erosion control and safeguarding biodiversity. I'm concerned felling is due to restart in September through an NRW contract that will lead to loss of habitat and flooding of tributaries leading to the Alyn river. Sustainably managed continuous cover forests are also more resilient to pest diseases and climate change. The Welsh Government strategy states that local knowledge, existing disease-spread data and meteorological data will all be utilised by NRW, but this is clearly not being followed here as there are large areas of larch that are perfectly healthy and not subject to any statutory plant health notice. So, with mass felling due to start in September—this is why it's urgent, and I've phrased it here—please could I ask for a statement on why Welsh Government budget is being used to needlessly fell compartments of healthy larch trees on the public forest estate in this haphazard way? Thank you.

Lesley Griffiths AC: Thank you. I do recognise the value of our trees and woodlands and hedgerows, and, immediately after this business statement, I'll be making a statement on the current position of the sustainable farming scheme, where absolutely that will be recognised. They're of huge importance to our biodiversity in connecting our habitats to help build that resilient ecosystem that we all want to see and reduce the impacts of climate change. Unfortunately, P. ramorum disease in larch does remain a significant challenge for us here in Wales, and felling on the Welsh Government's woodland estate is undertaken in line with the UK forestry standard, with the Government standard for sustainable forest management also. And that standard does require and give guidance in relation to protecting water, soils, biodiversity and other ecosystems during the felling operations.
The management of woodland on the Welsh Government woodland estate does take account of disease-spread data and NRW do undertake surveillance to monitor the spread of P. ramorum, and it is sometimes necessary for operational reasons, and as part of a planned, more efficient approach to woodland management, as set out in NRW's larch reduction strategy, to fell trees even if they're not showing symptoms of disease. That reduction of larch will also increase the resilience of the woodland.

Sam Rowlands AS: Minister, I'd like to request a statement from the Minister for Economy outlining the decision-making process for grants from the Welsh Government community facilities programme. I'm asking this in light of the Welsh Government's decision to deny Llandudno football club's grant application for a new 3G pitch, which I know the Member for Aberconwy, Janet Finch-Saunders, also has concerns about. This decision has been a bitter blow for Llandudno football club. The club played most of their homes games in Bangor last season and were looking forward to a proper return to Llandudno. The Welsh Government's decision has led to the manager leaving the club, and many fear for the future of the club, despite the many hundreds of people it serves in the town and surrounding communities. This decision seems also off the back of some positive feedback from the funding panel, so the club are at a loss as to how this decision has come about. So, to remove some ambiguity, I'd like to request a statement outlining the decision-making processes for grants of this nature. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Lesley Griffiths AC: This issue doesn't sit with the Minister for Economy; it sits with the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip. However, each bid is assessed with very strict eligibility criteria. I would think the best way forward, really, would be for the club—. I mean, I appreciate what you said about how they'd had some initial feedback, but it would be good for them to ask for feedback. It might be better for you to write direct to the Minister, or the club can obviously contact officials to get that feedback.

Joyce Watson AC: Minister, I'd like a statement on what the Welsh Government are doing to support families who receive the Healthy Start allowance. A recent report from Food Foundation's kids food guarantee found that there are no first infant formulas available that are affordable with the UK Government Healthy Start allowance, which is currently £8.50 a week for those with children under one year of age. The research found that the cost of a standard powdered formula varied between £9.39 and £15.95 in supermarkets. The allowance is there to help parents from low-income families by using vouchers to buy fruit, veg, milk and formulas—and, as demonstrated at the moment in terms of milk formulas, that is not in any way adequate. Of course, we know that not every infant can be breastfed, and not being able to afford first infant formula poses a real risk to the infant's health, and the formula is specifically balanced to contain the right amount of nutrients and calories. With costs so high, there are fears that parents may feel they have no choice but either to cut back on feeding their children or to water it down. I am keen to know, Minister, what discussions the Welsh Government have had with the UK Government about this, and what the Welsh Government are doing to support families who are struggling to buy first infant formula. These families need help, more now than ever. It's a stark reminder of how the cost of living and the crash of the economy is really hitting home.

Lesley Griffiths AC: Thank you. As you point out, the Healthy Start scheme is not devolved, but it does provide financial help towards buying healthy food, milk and formula. The payments for under-ones is £8.50 a week, whereas for infants between one and four years, it's £4.25 a week, so even the £8.50 may not cover the full price of infant formula. But the Healthy Start scheme is designed to help towards the cost of foods and drinks included, not necessarily cover the cost of a family's healthy food bill in its entirety. But we do have some concerns about the delivery of the scheme. The Minister wishes to review the Healthy Start scheme in Wales and consider possible options for devolution, going forward. We also have the best uptake of the scheme out of any UK nation here, so I think it's really important that the Minister—and I know she will do that—continues to work with partners to increase access and awareness of support.

Gareth Davies AS: Can I ask for a Government statement this afternoon on the use of wildflower meadows by local authorities across Wales, as I've been contacted by many residents in my constituency from Nant Close in Rhuddlan, Fern Way in Rhyl and other areas concerned about the use of wildflower meadows by Denbighshire County Council? Now, I'm no way against wildflower meadows, as previously alleged by the First Minister the last time I asked him in First Minister's questions, if there is evidence of good flower production and an increase in bee population and biodiversity, which is the scheme's intention. But when there are poor crops developing and then becoming dry and barren in hot and dry conditions, and also on land in years gone by where children have played sport and the public have enjoyed the space, can this be considered and dealt with by the local authorities, as cases of apathy are leading to my constituents believing they are being used as cost- and corner-cutting measures by Denbighshire, which then leads to discontent as local residents have seen gargantuan increases in their council tax rates since devolution and aren't getting value for money? So, can you provide a statement this afternoon on what guidance the Welsh Government is giving to local authorities on the use of wildflower meadowsand whether there is any consideration in that guidance to help my constituents who are tired of seeing perennial poor crops every summertime?

Lesley Griffiths AC: Well, I certainly think this year we've seen some excellent examples of wildflower meadows and roundabouts. I know, in my own constituency of Wrexham—and perhaps I can plug that, because I know they're in a Wales in Bloom competition for their roundabouts in Wrexham today, and I think the judging’s today, actually—it's been great to see. I'm not sure quite what you're getting at, because, certainly, it does improve biodiversity, and you only have to look at them to see the butterflies and bees that are attracted. So, I do think it's a matter for each local authority.

And finally, Natasha Asghar.

Natasha Asghar AS: Thank you so much, Deputy Presiding Officer. Minister, please may I request a statement from the Minister for Social Justice about Wales being a nation of sanctuary? The reason why I ask is because I'd like the Minister to please clarify who 'the nation of sanctuary', which is a phrase often used by many Ministers and politicians in this place, actually applies to. I know the dictionary definition of what's been sent out to all of us, however there are many people in Wales who have come to support us with jobs, to have education here, and to live and build lives. The reason why I'm asking for this specifically is because I personally, as a child of immigrants, have been openly mocked and ridiculed by Ministers and backbenchers in this place for simply being ambitious. And these are the people were last week sitting in this Chamber talking about compassion and the importance about having a nation of sanctuary, yet their attitude towards me personally—and I'm sure this could perhaps continue to other people outside of this Chamber—is something that genuinely causes me concern. How can Wales be a genuine nation of sanctuary when we're not even supportive to welcome each other within this Chamber? Is Wales a nation of sanctuary to people like me, my parents, people out there as well who are immigrants, children of immigrants as well who perhaps have been in Wales for 50 years plus, or perhaps, even, less? Or is it a case whereby the Welsh Government just picks and chooses who it exactly applies to? Clarification would be greatly appreciated as I personally want to see Wales as a nation of sanctuary for everyone, and not just a select few, going forward.

Lesley Griffiths AC: And I think that is absolutely the definition: we're a nation of sanctuary for everyone who needs it. I think you're talking more in general terms about a lack of respect in this Chamber, and I do think that happens quite often in this Chamber, and perhaps we all need to look at ourselves.

I thank the Trefnydd.

3. Statement by the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd: Government response to the second phase of the sustainable farming scheme co-design

Item 3 this afternoon is the statement from the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales: the Government response to the second phase of the sustainable farming scheme co-design. I call on the Minister, Lesley Griffiths.

Lesley Griffiths AC: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm pleased to update the Senedd today on the development of the sustainable farming scheme. This is the first major new initiative underpinned by our soon-to-be landmark Agriculture (Wales) Act, and mirrors its sustainable land management objectives to support Welsh farmers to produce food sustainably and help tackle the climate and nature emergencies. The SFS will be our main mechanism to underpin resilient agricultural businesses, and it also recognises the key role farmers play as stewards of our Welsh language, heritage and culture.
Last summer, I published the most detailed set of proposals to date on the scheme. Those outline proposals underpinned our second phase of co-design. The proposals were set deliberately at a high level so farmers and stakeholders could contribute their experience and progressive ideas, to help us develop further detail. Today, I am pleased to publish two reports on the co-design outputs. The 'Sustainable Farming Scheme Co-design: Final Report' is the collated feedback from over 1,600 contributions, primarily from farmers. Through a series of online surveys, interviews and group discussions, farmers' willingness and ability to undertake the proposed scheme actions were explored. The second report, 'Sustainable Farming Scheme—Analysis of feedback to the outline scheme proposals', reflects the wider responses of 100 stakeholder organisations, groups and individuals. The third document I'm publishing today is 'Sustainable Farming Scheme Outline Proposals: Co-design response.' This contains our thoughts on how we will use these findings to develop an ambitious and accessible scheme that supports active farmers. I recommend all three reports are read, as they contain significant evidence on motivations, available opportunities on farms, and what we need to consider to remove some of the barriers to action. I do not have the time to go into the detail today. However, I would like to provide a few examples of co-design findings, and the Welsh Government’s response.

Lesley Griffiths AC: We received feedback on the number of changes some farmers will have to undertake, along with a request to provide farmers enough time to understand and implement changes. We are, therefore, considering a phased approach. This could mean we focus on rolling out the universal actions, when the scheme is introduced in 2025, before we roll out the optional and collaborative actions in the following few years. This would avoid our farmers being overwhelmed with multiple changes all at once. Our focus for the scheme should be on supporting maximum take-up from the beginning so that maintaining the benefits already achieved through existing sustainable farm practice, such as our high animal health and welfare standards, for example, through an animal health improvement cycle, remains central to the scheme. In doing so, we won't lose sight of our longer term ambitions for prosperous and resilient farms, for climate and for nature. We will not achieve all of these on day one, but will set the foundations in 2025 to take further positive actions over the subsequent transition period. 
We proposed a habitat baseline review would be needed for every farm to identify habitats and the management required before joining the scheme. While co-design participants saw the value of this, they raised concerns about the cost and availability of advisors. We are, therefore, exploring how we can make this habitat review scalable for the universal layer, by using information already held to remotely identify potential habitats on farm. We will do this through familiar processes, through Rural Payments Wales Online, making use of the knowledge of the farmer to confirm their farm details. This will be supplemented by advisers only where needed.
We must focus on our environmental commitments. For example, managing semi-natural habitats through the scheme is a key mechanisms to help deliver the 30x30 biodiversity targets. We proposed 10 per cent of each farm should be managed as semi-natural habitat. Many co-design participants saw the value in recognising good management of existing habitats and woodland above the proposed minimum requirements. We will explore opportunities to better recognise these existing features, including through the payment methodology.
Tree planting proposals generated a lot of feedback. We acknowledge there are scenarios where tree planting would not be possible, such as on restrictive tenancies or sensitive habitats. We have provided further detail on the scenarios we believe will prevent planting. We are exploring changes so the action is not necessarily 10 per cent of the entire holding, but 10 per cent of the remaining area once unsuitable areas have been identified. The 10 per cent tree cover would include existing tree cover.
I thank all the farmers and stakeholders who contributed their thoughts and valuable time to co-design, which you can see from these examples are making a real difference to the scheme's proposals. We have never before been able to utilise farmers' input in scheme design in the way we have over our two phases of co-design. This encapsulates the relationship I want to continue fostering with our farmers, to be more inclusive of ideas and experience from the people working tirelessly to put sustainable, safe and nutritious food on our plates.I would also like to thank Plaid Cymru, as part of the co-operation agreement, for their contributions during this policy development process.
The next stage is for my officials to combine the outputs from co-design and working groups to help shape the next version of the scheme's proposals, including payment methodology, to be included in the final consultation. Final design decisions will not be made until the conclusion of the next consultation. In the meantime, there are steps farmers can continue to take towards greater sustainability before the SFS is introduced. Our rural investment schemes provide funding for a range of on-farm actions, such as the Growing for the Environment scheme. There is also capital funding available through the small grants and nutrient management investment schemes, and funding for woodland planting—woodland that would count towards the tree cover required for the scheme. These are actions that benefit our farmers and that can be clearly linked back to our climate and nature targets, which we will have to remain ever conscious of, to justify future budget allocations—a position we know will be increasingly challenging.  
I hope, collectively, this Chamber and our stakeholders can focus on providing joined-up messaging to our hard-working farmers, their families and their communities. The Act and the sustainable farming scheme are designed to keep farmers on the land, to support the sustainable production of food at the same time as tackling the climate and nature emergencies, including mitigating the impacts of these emergencies on our long-term food-producing capacity. Let's all work together on making this a reality. I look forward to updating the Senedd on the consultation towards the end of this year. Diolch.

Samuel Kurtz AS: I'm grateful to the Minister for bringing this much-anticipated statement forward ahead of the summer recess and the summer shows, of course, and for allowing me to have advance sight of it this morning.
I know that the Minister has had many conversations since the SFS statement made this time last year, and I'm grateful to her and her department for listening to those views put forward, but clarity is still required on certain aspects of the scheme. Put simply, if farmers don't enter the scheme, if the schemes aren't attractive enough for farmers to participate in, then we all lose out—the Welsh Government lose out, our farmers lose out, nature and the environment loses out, and the Welsh public in general lose out to. The schemes must be sufficiently attractive to encourage farmers to participate. And with payment rates not included in today's statement—I know this will concern the farming unions, as it does me—it is important that they appear in the next consultation, with full and clear economic modelling. Farmers need to be able to assess the viability of adopting the universal actions, but will be unable to do this until they know what the payment rates are. As I've said, will they be sufficiently attractive to get farmers to participate?
There also remains concern that a decision in favour of payment capping has yet to be taken, and I would be interested to learn if, or when, this may be forthcoming. It is important that the application process remains as simple as possible, especially at the universal level. The current application and payment mechanisms work. Minister, there's no need to reinvent the wheel here. It is a positive step to roll out the universal actions first, and give a gap before the optional and collaborative actions start—this is welcome. But it is important that there is sufficient budget allocation in the universal tier, and I'd welcome the Minister's views on that.
There are other positives in today's statement too, including the habitat baseline review process. However, tree planting and the target remains a contentious issue, and the Minister will be aware that I raised this at committee recently. The perseverance with the arbitrary 10 per cent figure for tree coverage could be an unachievable baseline for farms for several reasons. The Minister has acknowledged those, and I acknowledge that there has been some movement on this since last summer, including the acceptance that tree planting may not be possible on some tenanted or sensitive habitat land. But can the Minister confirm if hedgerows will be included in the tree coverage figure, and if there is further flexibility available on the 10 per cent figure, or is this now baked in to the SFS? Also, the statement refers to, and I quote,
'10 per cent of the remaining area once unsuitable areas have been identified.'
Does that mean the Minister is advocating for the most productive food-producing land being put over to tree planting? Because any loss of good-quality food-producing land will concern farmers and impact our ability to increase our food security.
Minister, you'll also be aware how keen I am to see new and young farmers enter the profession. NFU Cymru's Next Generation group, who launched their report in the Senedd only last month, reassure me that the next generation of farmers is in safe hands. However, we need to recognise that many will not have long-term security on the land they farm and the same access to financial support that older, more established counterparts have. They ask that the SFS uses capital grants to incentivise and facilitate the development of farm businesses, with funding made available to fund productivity improvements on Welsh farms. They also recommend higher intervention rates be set for young farmers. Minister, I'd be interested to know what support will come through the SFS for those starting out in farming, and the specific asks of the NFU Cymru's Next Generation group.
My penultimate point: there is nothing in this statement on the successor schemes to Glastir, and a cliff edge that is fast approaching, only a few months away. Can the Minister provide any clarity on Glastir today, which will at least steer the farming community in a specific direction?
Finally, can I ask what consideration has the Minister and her team given to the SFS directly supporting productivity and food production here in Wales? As I mentioned at the opening of my response, the summer show season gives a great opportunity for the SFS and its proposals to be aired, squeezed, twisted and checked to see if it is robust and deliverable. There remains anxiety for clarity and excitement for the new opportunities, but the SFS consultation in the autumn needs to provide clarity, certainty and detail to farmers to enable them to plan ahead. The long-term future of Wales's family farm and the wider competitive farming industry relies on getting the sustainable farming scheme right. I hope that I can reassure the Minister that I don't come at this topic politically, but rather from a perspective of wanting to get the absolute best possible scheme for Wales's farmers and food-producing community. I look forward to the Minister's response. Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd.

Lesley Griffiths AC: Thank you very much, and thank you for that last point. I think it is really important that we don't come at it from a political perspective, and that we do all work together in making sure that this scheme is absolutely right. I've said that all along. I've taken my time—some people have criticised me for taking my time—but I think it is really important that it works for every farmer on every type of farm in every part of Wales. That co-design has really flushed out some things that we perhaps were not sure about and has given us that certainty, but also issues that were challenging. And as I said in my statement, Deputy Presiding Officer, I'm very grateful to everyone who's given their time.
I think the point that you make about we want to make it as attractive as possible and we want as many farmers as possible to be part of that scheme is really important. Certainly, I would be incredibly disappointed if we had fewer farms and farmers in it than in the basic payment scheme, for instance. I've challenged officials that that should absolutely be the baseline going forward. Some people aren't part of the BPS; I met a couple of farmers last summer at the Royal Welsh Show who told me that under no circumstances would they want to be part of the SFS, just as they weren't part of the BPS. I absolutely respect that, and that's always the case. But, for me, I want as many farmers as possible to be part of that scheme, working with us to make sure that we deliver on our priorities.
You mention payment information, and, clearly, that is not in this statement today. Payment methodology will be part of the final consultation that will go out; it will be the last consultation. I heard you say 'autumn'; I think it's more likely to be winter, but, certainly, it will be this year before we go into Christmas recess. And we absolutely intend to include details of the proposed payment methodology in that consultation at the end of the year. It will not contain full payment details, as the actions will not be finalised until that consultation exercise has been concluded. I think it's really important to make that point. 
I also should say it's really hard to design a scheme when you don't know what the budget is going to be, and we have no certainty of budget settlements for 2025 and beyond. So, you have to keep some element of flexibility because it is really, really challenging to design a scheme when you don't know what the budget is going to be. What we can say is this scheme will be the main source of funding for farmers going forward. It will be different to the current basic payment scheme. The fundamental change will be that the level of payment will be linked to the activities the active farmer undertakes.
You raised some questions around the universal layer first, and I want to make sure that farmers can enter the universal layer immediately as soon as we start the scheme. We haven't had discussions—and I just follow on from what I was saying about we don't know what our budget is going to be—as to the proportions of budget that will go into which scheme, because I think we all accept that, obviously, it's universal by its very name—that will be where the majority of farmers will go. And I think it's really important that farmers can enter that from day one.
In relation to trees, hedgerows don’t count as trees—they’re hedges, so they’ll be part of the habitat. If you had a tree in a hedge, that would count as a tree. I clarified that last week. I was on a farm last week and I was asked that question, so I asked it of officials and that was the answer I was given.We know we have a very, very challenging target to create 43,000 hectares of new woodland by 2030, and that’s to help mitigate climate change, and we know that farmers are the best people to help us do that, and they will be paid to do it. They play a very significant role in helping us achieve that target, and I want to support them in all they do.
There’s no flexibility around the two 10 per cents; the two 10 per cents are now set in it. But as I said in my statement, there will be lots of examples where they cannot provide 10 per cent of coverage on their farm. So, the farm I went to last Thursday, I went there specifically because I was told they could not do the 10 per cent. When you get there, you can see why they can’t do the 10 per cent. So it’s really important that we see farms, for me to go and listen to the farmer tell me why they can’t do that 10 per cent. And there are lots of climatic reasons why 10 per cent coverage isn’t possible on a farm. So, we will work through the farmers.No, of course we don’t want food production land to be taken out, but certainly, the farm I was on on Thursday, they wanted to work with us to see how they could increase the tree coverage.
You ask about Glastir, and obviously, I extended the Glastir contracts until the end of this year. I have committed to making a statement before the Royal Welsh Show. I appreciate that time is running out, but I think that will be on my desk this week. I do hope to make a statement before the end of this week; it might run into next week, but I will certainly be able to do that before the show, because I do think it is important that people recognise what we’re doing, going forward.
I think at the Royal Welsh Show, and other agricultural shows—because there are many agricultural shows across Wales coming up in the next couple of months—it is really important to continue to have those conversations. You will see, for those of you attending the show, if you come to the Welsh Government’s stand, that is absolutely our focus—the sustainable farming scheme is absolutely our focus, and I look forward to having those discussions.

Llyr Gruffydd AC: Thank you to the Minister for her statement. I look forward to scrutinising the detail of the sustainable farming scheme. Despite the discussion that there's been on the Agriculture (Wales) Bill, I think we're now getting to the detail, and if the Bill was challenging, then I don't doubt that the process before us will be even more challenging. This, of course, is where the ambition of the Bill meets the reality on the ground, and turning the vision into action is never an easy process, but I certainly look forward to contributing to that process and to engaging with a number of stakeholders in order to reach a scheme that will hopefully work for everyone.
You've mentioned your ongoing ambition of keeping farmers on the land. Well, I will certainly echo that my priority is to protect the family farm, because without viable and successful family farms, then we will have nobody to deliver the ambition of the Bill, nor the intention within the scheme.

Llyr Gruffydd AC: It's disappointing that you're not able today to tell us about this funding gap between the end of the basic payments and the beginning of the sustainable farming scheme. For the sake of a couple of days, I think it would have been good for you to share that with us today so that we could maybe raise a few issues, rather than having to respond blindly over the summer to a Minister who isn’t in front of us in Parliament. But there we are; that’s the politics of the Royal Welsh as well, I suppose, and Ministers needing things to announce.
The support structure and the whole ecosystem around the implementation of the proposals, and clearly the need for a habitat baseline review for every farm sends up a number of red flags, doesn’t it, in terms of costs and capacity and expert capacity particularly. Now, you acknowledge this, and you have acknowledged this, but I think fundamentally what you’re saying is that you don’t really know whether the capacity is there to make the scheme work. Because we know that advisers, contractors, inspectors and even the supply chain may not be able to cope with the new actions required. If you want 10 per cent tree cover, then do we have sufficient tree stocks, nurseries, associated contractors to put those trees in the ground, et cetera, et cetera? Now, you say in some of the associated documents that you published today that you will undertake a capacity assessment. I'm wondering maybe why that hasn't happened sooner, given that we are well on our way in a certain direction, and if you realise that there is insufficient capacity, well, we are going to need more than 18, maybe 20 months if it comes to increasing expert workforce particularly.
But of course, we know what happens when there is insufficient capacity or provision. All of a sudden, costs go up, daily rates go up, because of the basic laws of supply and demand. So, how will you keep, for example, consultant costs and other costs under control at the beginning, particularly, of this process, and who is paying for this advice? Is this something that would be covered within the SFS budget, or will it be a cost to those wanting to come into the scheme? Maybe you could just elaborate a little bit on that.
I want to pick up as well on the 10 per cent tree cover. There is recognition now that there is a need for flexibility. I’m not sure why it took a tenant farmer specialist working group to highlight how unworkable some of this is for tenant farmers, but there we are, that’s been recognised. Some areas, as you have recognised, will already be over that 10 per cent threshold. Others, because of climate and certain conditional challenges, will not in any circumstances be able to meet that.
So, I’m just coming to a conclusion gradually that, how can an explicit reference to 10 per cent tree cover still be meaningful, given that it means something totally different to everybody, depending on different farms, different circumstances, where you are in the country, what you already have, et cetera? Why are you so wedded to plucking that figure out of the air? Will you reconsider being wedded to that arbitrary figure? And will you not, in light of the need to be so flexible, maybe consider presenting the need for increasing tree cover in a slightly more sophisticated way? I think that this 10 per cent label just doesn’t help anyone, and it creates confusion when you are now actually saying, 'But there will be flexibility'. Well, that’s not the narrative that’s been developing over recent months.
Finally, because I know that a number of areas have already been covered, and we are going to be talking a lot about this over the months and years to come, I am glad that you are still wedded to co-design. That’s obviously a key principle that we all want to support. But can you confirm, or reassure all of us, really, that co-design doesn’t drift into designing work-arounds to the universal actions for different farm types, et cetera, rather than actually fine tuning the universal actions themselves? I think that there is a risk that these groups become ways of working around problems instead of maybe addressing some of the fundamental issues that still remain.

Lesley Griffiths AC: Thank you very much. You talked about an announcement on BPS before the Royal Welsh Show. I’m not sure if you were referring to Glastir, because I have committed to continuing BPS until 2024. I have also gone to great lengths to assure people that we won’t have that cliff edge before the SFS begins. The plan is that SFS will begin in 2025. However, if we are not in that position, then we will have to continue with BPS. But I want to make it very clear that the plan is that we will go from BPS seamlessly into SFS.
However, the big red flag is that we don’t know what our budget is beyond 2025. We had that certainty, didn’t we, from the European Union. This isn’t a political comment at all; it’s very apolitical. It’s absolute fact that we have gone from that certainty to maybe one year, maybe three years, if we have got a comprehensive spending review. So, as I said in my answers to Sam Kurtz, it’s really difficult to design a scheme when you really have no idea what the budget is. But you have to assume that we will have at least the same budget that we have had for the past few years.
The way that we get around, as you say, those consultant costs is by making sure—. I think that it was Sam Kurtz who said, 'Don’t reinvent the wheel'. So much of these data are already held; it’s really very stark how much data are held. What officials have been working really hard to do is integrate all the different databases that we have, and all that information that we have—understand what tree cover there is; understand what habitat provision there is on the farms.We have that information, and what we will do is give that information in one block, if you like, to our farmers, so that they can check that it’s correct. We are exploring how we can do this via RPW online processes, where we already collate all that information. That’s very familiar to our farmers, that process, so we will continue to use that. We'll make guidance available to help farmers through the process of being able to confirm the habitat data that they already have. An adviser would then be available, if needed, to help. I do think we have the capacity, but obviously, that is something that we need to continually monitor. But what I want to do is, as I say, give that information to the farmers and use their expertise, because they're the ones who have that expertise in the first place.
Around tree planting, I think you used the word 'arbitrary', and I think Sam Kurtz used the word 'arbitrary' as well. It's not arbitrary, is it? We know what our target is to plant new woodland. We know that we haven't been planting enough trees—I think you'd be the first one to say that—over the years. We know if we're going to mitigate climate change, we need to plant and create 43,000 hectares of new woodland by 2030.By asking all farmers to create new woodland and manage and retain their existing woodlands, that will help us avoid large-scale land-use changes, which I don't think anybody would want to see, and keep our farmers on the land. So, rather than having that big change in land use, by asking each farmer to help us in this way to be part of the scheme—bear in mind this is public money, and we need those outcomes as well. I absolutely accept what you were saying about sustainable food production. But we know that the climate emergency is what will affect sustainable food production, not just now, but also in the medium and longer terms. So, I think, by asking farmers to help us, that will avoid the large-scale land-use change.Those trees will also help with flood prevention, the impacts of flood. And with the increasingly hot summers that we're seeing, they will provide shelter for livestock as well, going forward.We are giving time for our farmers to do this, we're not asking them to do it on day one; there'll be multiple years, maybe five years, in order to do this. They don't have to do it straight away, and we'll work with them to establish the right tree in the right place in a way that works best for their farm.
I'm very keen to continue the co-design. I think the consultations we've had and the two co-design phases that we've had have shown the benefits of doing that, so I'm very happy to continue doing that.

Jane Dodds AS: Good afternoon, Minister. There are obviously a lot of good things that have come out of this process, the co-design and the co-production being so positive. But to sound like the stuck record that I'm afraid you've heard, it is the focus on the 10 per cent tree cover; it does seem very arbitrary—10 per cent. What happens if a farmer gets to 8 per cent, 9 per cent? What are the ramifications of that? This is so important, and I hope the debate will continue, because people are raising it all of the time. We need to be really clear that there is flexibility, and I'm not sure that there is. I'm not sure that there is a kind of view that you are going to be able to take on board that there may be an issue of debate.
We all want trees planted, we all want to see the right tree in the right place. Nobody is denying that, but it is about this demand that there is 10 per cent tree cover, and that that doesn't include hedgerows at the moment.We need to make sure the right tree is in the right place, and I'm pleased that this is an update that you've given to us, and I hope that we'll continue to take the conversation forward, and the co-design and the co-production into the future. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Paul Davies took the Chair.

Lesley Griffiths AC: Thank you to Jane Dodds for those points and questions. You heard what I've said in my previous answers to Sam and Llyr around the 10 per cent of trees. We did receive feedback, I think it's fair to say, during the co-design phase, that we should include hedgerows within the 10 per cent tree cover, for instance. As I say, our current proposal is 10 per cent for hedgerows in habitat and 10 per cent for tree cover as well. We have been encouraging farmers, and we've been making funding available through schemes for tree planting now, because I wanted farmers not to think they've got to hold back before the SFS comes in before they plant any trees. So, what we're saying is that any woodland that's planted in advance of SFS coming in will count towards the SFS actions.
So, again, I urge any farmers, if they've got the opportunity to take advantage of current funding schemes, to do so. As I say, it's not an additional 10 per cent; many farms have already got 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 per centand more on top already, and so, if they want to plant more, they will be rewarded for that. We're making £30 million in funding available over the next two years to plant trees via the small grants woodland creation scheme. And as I say, there are already schemes available, so just to encourage. So, I hope you recognise that the reason we have done it is because of that 43,000 hectares that we need to create, that new 43,000. It's not arbitrary. We know that, by spreading it and asking farmers to all play their part, we will achieve that.
Oh sorry, and the last point that you raised—the next stage now will be those discussions over the summer, and then, in the autumn, we'll go out to final consultation. That's got to be a meaningful consultation—there still could be changes made following that consultation, which will go out before the end of the year. And I just want to reassure people that, absolutely, before the scheme comes in the following year, in 2025, there's plenty of time for discussions and everyone's thoughts.

Huw Irranca-Davies AC: Minister, as has been mentioned, the crux of success of this is whether it's sufficiently attractive for farmers, but also sufficiently challenging so that it's a win for farmers, but also a win for the environment and wildlife and biodiversity as well. And that's always a tricky balance to get right. I note within the statement—which I welcome, by the way, because the detail now is getting very interesting—this phased approach could send the alarm bells going for some out there, that it's going to be a phased approach, but there is a logic to it. But, as we look at baseline review, what more do we need to do? What is it that there's left to map et cetera?
Ten per cent of farms as semi-natural habitat—that's really interesting. Woodland has been touched on, but I'm assuming that the 10 per cent, with the issues of 10 per cent of appropriate land, with the fact that you include existing tree cover, that's actually a signal to farmers that that's a de minimis—that's not something to aim for, as in only 10 per cent; if you've got more appropriate land that you can actually put woodland on, without sacrificing land that can be used for food security, then you could do more.
Just a couple of other questions, very quickly, Chair—very, very quickly.

Paul Davies AC: Yes, very quickly.

Huw Irranca-Davies AC: We were out recently with Gemma Haines, I mentioned, discussing very much tenant farming and new entrants; great to see that Bridgend College is part of the working group. I wonder if you can tell us a bit more about that. And just finally, no mention of access—I couldn't sit down without mentioning access.

Lesley Griffiths AC: Thank you. I just realised, when Huw Irranca-Davies mentioned new entrants, that Sam Kurtz asked me about new entrants too, and I didn't answer that question. It's absolutely vital that the scheme works for new entrants, because, if you don't have new entrants, we won't have new ideas, we won't have that entrepreneurial energy that we absolutely need for the industry. So, we've had a new entrants working group, and they've been exploring what some of the main barriers are around access to land, to finance, and, to a lesser extent, I would say skills, because I think—. You mentioned Bridgend College, and it's great to see those skills being taught there. And it does seem likely that some of the main solutions to the barriers that new entrants are facing lie within the sustainable farming scheme. It won't have some of the barriers to support that we've experienced with previous schemes going forward, for instance, such as quota, or entitlements based on a previous reference period. So, the new entrants group—. We will continue—I probably should have said that—to work with the working groups. We've in fact just brought a new working group in. Even though we've finished that phase of co-design, we've just brought a new working group in on key performance indicators, for instance, and it could be that we'll need other working groups. But we're also working with the common land working group—nobody's raised that, but, obviously, common land is very important, but that will probably go down to the collaboration level, going forward.
As you said, it's really important that we make it as attractive as possible. And I'm very keen to make things as simple as possible as well, because it's clear that bureaucracy is something that farmers—as we all do, don't we, but farmers absolutely—hate, so it's really important we do that.
In relation to access, obviously, local authorities retain their responsibilities in relation to public rights of way, and what the SFS will do is fund additional actions that sit over and above existing regulation, and support for enhanced access will sit within the optional and collaborative layers of the SFS.

Paul Davies AC: And finally, James Evans.

James Evans AS: Diolch, Cadeirydd. And Minister, I'd like to thank you for your statement today. I'm interested in the sustainable farming scheme, what protection there is going to be for active farmers and our tenant farmers. Because what we don't want to see is big multinational companies or big landowners evicting tenants from their farms, driving them off the land, so they can access the scheme to access their carbon credits and so they can boost their green credentials. So, I'll be interested to know what's in the scheme to protect those farmers from those multinationals.

Lesley Griffiths AC: Thank you. Well, I don't think I can be more clear that this scheme is for active farmers. I certainly don't want to see any multinationals come in and throw, as you say, a tenant off their land, and that's absolutely why we are have a tenant working group coming forward. That funding—the sustainable farming scheme—is there to replace the basic payment scheme and that is for our active farmers. So, going forward, we will certainly have to assess if that happens, because I receive lots of anecdotal information that this is happening and I don't see much evidence of it, and I can't tell a farmer who to sell their land to. Certainly, if you've got a landlord and they've got a tenant, it's really important that we work with tenants, and you'll know within the Bill there is that protection for tenants going forward.

Paul Davies AC: I thank the Minister.

4. Statement by the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language: Progress on the roll-out of the new curriculum

Paul Davies AC: We'll move on now to item 4, which is a statement by the Minister for Education and Welsh Language: progress on the roll-out of the new curriculum, and I call on the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles.

Jeremy Miles AC: Diolch, Cadeirydd. In less than two months, all schools in Wales will be teaching the Curriculum for Wales. As I have always stressed, transforming education will take time, but, one year in, the emerging picture should give us confidence. The profession should take pride in this. It has not been an easy year, and schools and their staff have risen to a range of challenges, not least a cost-of-living crisis.
I've recently published our new attendance guidance for consultation. There is a clear link between attendance and educational attainment. We know that missing sustained periods of school can present a risk to a child’s attainment and can leave them feeling more disengaged from their education. In this light, I have been deeply impressed with how schools and settings have used the curriculum to engage learners in innovative ways and, crucially, to raise aspirations for all of their children. I want all children and young people in our education system to believe that they can achieve their potential and that their aspirations will be supported. Our curriculum, which aspires to empower every child to reach that potential, and our wider efforts to tackle the impact of poverty on educational attainment, are both central to achieving high standards and aspirations for all.
Last week, I published our second annual report. This highlights the very positive progress we've made this year. Senior leaders are more confident in the progress their schools are making and practitioners are more empowered by the opportunities to design their curriculum. Across schools, there has been greater focus on collaboration within and across settings, which is central to improving standards. There has also been a greater emphasis on pedagogy and learner-centred approaches, and this focus on learners’ needs is critical in raising aspirations for all. School leaders are also taking the opportunity to improve equity and inclusivity for their learners and to optimise the parallel implementation of additional learning needs reform. The curriculum enables teachers to focus on an individual learner's needs to help all learners to progress, and we are seeing these practices emerge now in schools.
Over the last year, we have supported schools to develop their approaches to curriculum design, progression and assessment. These are fundamental curriculum building blocks. Providing support here is how we unleash the creativity of schools. But, more than that, they will drive up standards. When we support schools to select challenging and meaningful curriculum content, we make sure that all learners are stretched. When practitioners focus relentlessly on supporting each learner to progress in key ways, we help every learner to meet their potential. And when schools use forward-looking assessment approaches, we make sure every learner knows what they need to do next, and these principles apply across Wales. This is how we ensure the quality of every school’s curriculum. It is, after all, the Curriculum for Wales.
Over the next year, we will work closely with partners to ensure that there is common support for these foundational aspects of the curriculum, accessible to all professionals, ensuring clear, shared approaches and expectations across Wales.
Engaging with international expertise, the Understanding by Design project has highlighted the opportunity for additional support to help schools drive coherent standards in their planning and delivery. The outputs from this project will be shared from the autumn to support all schools.
We know as well that progression has been an area where schools have asked for and welcomed support. Importantly, cluster collaboration is increasingly being used to drive and support planning for progression, and this year we have clarified expectations around this. The Camau i’r Dyfodol project is a key part of our ongoing work to support understanding of progression, and we'll be publishing outputs to support practitioners from September.
We've also continued our efforts to ensure that the curriculum enables every learner, regardless of their background, to access the curriculum. This year I launched our oracy and reading toolkit, which recognises the critical role that these skills play as gateways for learning and attainment. I'll be updating this as well in the autumn after reviewing evidence of effective practice. We will also look to extend this robust approach to teaching numeracy, recognising it, obviously, as another critical skill for learners.

Jeremy Miles AC: We have made good progress on the important recommendations made by the group chaired by Professor Charlotte Williams to consider the contributions of black, Asian and minority ethnic communities in the curriculum. I am proud to say that all of these recommendations will be implemented by the autumn.
I have also now published our curriculum evaluation plan. This plan sets out our proposals to assess what’s working and to guide future improvement. This evaluation is central to understanding the impact on learners, their progression and on standards across Wales.
Later this year, we will see the Programme for International Student Assessment results for Wales for the first time since the pandemic. While these have not assessed learning under the Curriculum for Wales, we will use the feedback to further drive our curriculum support.
Supporting learners beyond education remains a priority. I have recently announced that we will work with partners to develop guidance on 14 to 16 learning that will recognise all experiences, skills and knowledge that young people gain from their schools, and that will help them in their next steps.
Qualifications, of course, remain an important part of this, and we will continue to work with Qualifications Wales as the details of the new qualifications emerge, in particular, providing support to teachers to ensure they're able to deliver the learning for these.
One of the most important aspects of the curriculum is its opportunity to give learners the skills for a changing and unknown future. Recent developments in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies underline the importance of preparing our young people for this future. We will work closely, therefore, with practitioners, experts and other Governments to respond to the opportunities and challenges that we face as a result of this rapid advancement of new technologies.
Over the last year, we have seen very positive engagement with the national network, and conversations throughout the year have demonstrated a commitment to make time for reflection and improvement. We will therefore continue to evolve and expand the network to ensure that practitioners help to develop the future support for the profession.
This academic year has been a landmark year in terms of our reforms, and I'm deeply proud of the achievements of our teachers and support staff in securing this. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to them for their commitment and enthusiasm in embracing the Curriculum for Wales.
We remain on a journey and we cannot forget the scale of the task. It remains critical that we provide the opportunity, the time and the support to schools to be able to work together to raise standards and enable every child to receive the opportunity to progress to their full potential.

James Evans AS: I'd like to thank the Minister for your statement this afternoon. Minister, many schools that I have visited in my constituency and right across Wales welcome the roll-out of the new Curriculum for Wales and the flexibility that it gives schools to design that curriculum for their learners, to ensure that we get the best outcomes for pupils, and ensure that it's designed in a way for the wants of that individual school. One key part of the success of the new curriculum will be sharing best practice right across Wales, so, Minister, can you outline how Welsh Government is working with local authority leaders and schools to share best practice across Wales and make sure our schools are getting all the information they can to make sure it's being developed right across Wales?
Another issue we need to do to ensure it is having the best impact is making sure we have teachers in our classrooms to deliver the new curriculum. Teacher recruitment is an issue right across the UK, and I don't want to make a political point on that, but what I'd like to know, Minister, is: what are the Welsh Government doing to increase the number of teachers across Wales, because that is also going to be vitally important if we are to deliver that new curriculum? You mentioned in your statement that progress had been made with cluster collaboration being used to support planning and progression. What I'd like to know about that is: can you outline what funding is being made available to schools to help them develop that cluster collaboration, because schools I speak to said they could do with some revenue funding to actually help pump prime that to make it happen?
Another matter that I think is extremely important is 14-to-16 learning, and I think it's a very important part that we develop skills that actually help our young people and the next generation. So, I'd like to know what work the Welsh Government is doing with employers and the business sector across Wales to make sure we're actually encouraging young people to fill those skill gaps, the skills that we need, in the new curriculum as well, to make sure that we do have full employment here across Wales.
Minister, if the new curriculum is also to be a success, we need to ensure that our most vulnerable learners across Wales are getting the support they need. I visited a school last week that is failing to deliver the new curriculum because they're having to divert money that should be spent on learners into providing ALN support for other pupils. So, I'd actually like to know: is there enough funding to deliver the new ALN reforms across Wales? Because, if we are going to make sure that all our teachers are delivering the new curriculum, we want to make sure the money is actually delivering on that and not being spent in other areas, propping up ALN support in schools, and I think that's something that's really, really important for me and other Members in this Chamber.
You mentioned numeracy, and I think it's very important that we do teach numeracy, but it's also very important that we teach financial education in our schools and educate our young people about money and how they're actually going to use that money when they leave school and actually go into the working environment. I'd like to know what work Welsh Government is doing, working with schools and with clusters, to make sure that financial education is put in place right across our school estates?
Finally, Minister—. One more question. The main key driver for the success or failure of this new curriculum is down to funding. When the curriculum was launched, a school that I spoke to received a funding cut at the same time, and they said that this would have a major impact on their ability to deliver the new curriculum and give them the opportunities that they actually needed to upskill those learners and deliver the curriculum they want. Minister, no-one in this Chamber can deny that schools do need extra funding, and I know balancing a budget is very, very difficult, but it comes down to political choices and how the Welsh Government wants to spend its budget. So, what I'd like to know is: in this next round of the budget preparation that you're probably going through at the moment with Cabinet colleagues, how are you prioritising the Welsh Government's budget to make sure that the roll-out of the new curriculum is a success for all our learners right across Wales? Diolch, Gadeirydd.

Jeremy Miles AC: Thank you for those questions.

Jeremy Miles AC: I'll do my best to address—. There was a range of questions in there, so I will perhaps be brief in my response, but I'll try and cover them. I agree with the Member that working collaboratively across the system is essential for making progress, because it's fundamental that there is a shared understanding of progression across the system. So, cluster working is a really important aspect of that; alongside those thematic national network conversations that I talked about, those local networks are also very important. He will know from his discussions with schools that, where schools have good clusters, they have nothing but good things to say about the outputs of that. So, we want to ensure that we're actively sharing the best of what's working in this area. We've published recently a series of films showcasing school cluster working, so that practitioners can visualise what it means in practice, in action, how it's being done, the benefits to practitioners, but, crucially, obviously, to learners as well. We've used examples at Fitzalan High School and Jubilee Park Primary School, so there's a range of resources in the system, but the consortia are tasked with making cluster working function well, as well. It's really important, though, to be clear that, although the Curriculum for Wales is very devolved to schools, it has a strong national framework. We have one Curriculum for Wales, one progression code, one set of statutory guidance, one national inspectorate, and those elements are really important in ensuring consistency across the system.

Jeremy Miles AC: He mentioned the requirement of teachers. The picture, actually, I would say, in Wales, is healthier than it is in some other parts of the UK. I'm not looking to make a political point. So, in particular, primary. And, at secondary, our retention rates are better in Wales, but there's obviously work to do to make sure that we continue to make the case for teaching as an attractive profession. We're doing good work at the moment with teaching unions and local authorities on reducing some of that extra workload that may not have the same justification today as it had when it was put in place. What more can we do to streamline and, where we can, reduce the expectations that we have of schools without compromising those important values of accountability and so on that we all obviously want to see? We have a range of incentives, which he will know, that focus, principally, on areas where everyone struggles to recruit teachers, so, some subject areas—we don't need to list them; we know which they are. We have a campaign, through Educators Wales, which I think, very attractively, markets the profession. But I think there's more to be done, and I think the way we conduct the debate—and I think him for way in which he's put the questions today—the way in which we conduct these kinds of debates are important. People listen to what we say. And whilst it's obviously important to address the challenges, it's also important to put them in context. So, I appreciate the way he's put the questions.
On funding, it's absolutely essential, obviously. We have pressurised public service budgets in all parts of the UK because of choices being made elsewhere. However, we will always prioritise education spending in Wales. He will know that the consequential, which we received from UK Government recently, was passported directly to local government in order for them to fund schools. He will also know that we have been able to increase the local government budget significantly, year on year, in the last two settlements. I don't for a second pretend that school budgets, local government budgets, like the Welsh Government budget, are not under incredible pressure because of the cost of living. But from the curriculum point of view, we're investing £21 million a year into the system, and the vast majority of that goes directly to schools for their professional learning, for their resources, for time in order to engage with other schools, for time to engage in the national network. We have £35 million in the system this year, as we had last year, funding the equivalent of 2,400 full-time equivalent teaching and teaching assistants in the system to deal with the ongoing effects of COVID. We've increased the level of funding available for pupil deprivation grants. So, there are many, many ways in which we've done absolutely as much as we can to support schools through these challenging times.
I'll touch briefly on the point he made about 14 to 16 and refer him to the statement I made very recently in the Chamber on that, which I'm sure he will remember. He asked me about ALN funding as well. How that is allocated ends up being a matter for local government to allocate. He may have seen—if he hasn’t, I would recommend that he perhaps looks at the statistical bulletin that we issued at the end of June, which sets out, for each local authority area, how they delegate their budgets to schools for special educational needs more broadly, which encompasses, obviously, partly ALN as well. But we provide, to local authorities, £26 million a year for the ALN transformation. That's up £4.5 million from last year, so we continue to look for how we can support the system. But, again, they are challenging reforms, and I recognise that there are pressures in schools to deal with them.
Finally, he asked me about financial education. Of course, he will know that's an element of the Curriculum for Wales in the statements of what matters. He will know, as I know from my own constituency, the good work that is happening in schools, with credit unions and others, with savings clubs, where young people can learn not just about the importance of money, crucial though that is, but numeracy, maths, responsibility, decision making and team working. All those crucial skills that we need to flourish in life can all be taught through the lens of that part of the curriculum.

Heledd Fychan AS: Thank you, Minister, for this afternoon's statement. James Evans has asked a number of questions, so I've been able to cross some of my questions off the list, but I also think it's very important that we do collaborate on this. The new curriculum is exciting; seeing it in operation has been wonderful in many of the schools that I've visited, and as a governor too. I think seeing the wealth of experiences that children and young people will have will be something that we should warmly welcome.
Of course, James has touched on some of the challenges, and you did so too in your statement, such as the additional things that teachers have to face now, for example, dealing with the cost-of-living crisis, as you've mentioned, with attendance issues and how much work has to go in to support families to ensure that children and young people do attend schools. There are a number of reasons, as we've discussed many times, why they don't. There are challenges in terms of additional learning needs—you referred to the bulletin published, which shows a great variety in the expenditure of local authorities in terms of additional learning needs. We've heard from some organisations that there is a postcode lottery in terms of the support available. We've also heard that some families feel that they can't keep children and young people in school because of a lack of support, and we've also seen an increase in the number choosing to teach from home, which means that many of these children and young people—. Of course, education is a choice, but when there are barriers that mean that parents choose to take their children out of school and so on, I think that we still need to understand that in the context of a new curriculum, and how much children and young people will lose out if there are barriers to them attending school.
I'd like to ask a specific question, just in looking at the report or research published looking at the early implementation of the Curriculum for Wales, the stage 1 report in April. There were, set out in that, a number of concerns that schools are facing in terms of workload specifically, in implementing these changes, and there was talk of a lack of time to trial new approaches, to understand the curriculum guidance, and to plan and map. There was also talk of a lack of additional funding for supply staff to release practitioners to participate in cluster meetings, professional learning and networking, and that this was an ongoing challenge for them. They also talked there about the capacity of practitioners in terms of workforce well-being because of these additional demands. So, I'm sure you'll have also seen that UCAC and some of the other unions have emphasised how much of a workload impact this will have and have encouraged you—. I know that you have provided additional time in terms of in-service training days, but there is still call for more of that to allow this to happen. So, can I ask how you have responded to that stage 1 report and some of those particular challenges, in order to ensure that everyone can deliver this?
In terms of the financial challenges that James mentioned, we know that this is a problem. Some of the things that have been raised with me are the practical issues. Because of the new curriculum, there is an encouragement to be outside the school gates more and more in order to give a wealth of experiences to children and young people. We know of the cost of public transport, including buses and so on. If you can even find a bus for a school trip, can you afford to pay for it? So, can I ask what support is available to specific schools that perhaps don't have things within easy reach, such as libraries and so on, in order to ensure that they can meet all of the requirements of the curriculum? Because there are number of things contained in the new curriculum demonstrating how you can teach a range of subjects in a location outwith the school, and ensure that we can deliver, as I was saying, all of the exciting elements of the new curriculum, whilst also ensuring that every child can benefit from that.
So, a number of questions there, but hopefully I've posed them in a positive way as we work our way through some of the challenges.

Jeremy Miles AC: Thank you very much. It's important that we have an open discussion about these issues; that's why the report is transparent and looks at the things we want to celebrate and some of the challenges too. The Member asks some very important questions. One thing I should say, in terms of the bulletin that I referred to that demonstrates how the budget for ALN is allocated by local authorities, yhe suggestion is that the balance between schools and what is provided centrally varies. So, the mix is different in every location, and it's important that we don't just look in terms of the school's point of view, but more widely in terms of the footprint of the authority with regard to what is provided.
With regard to absence and attendance, this is a significant challenge. We're currently consulting on guidance for schools, to support them. One of the main things we're looking at is whether there's a case—and I think there is—to lower the threshold before additional support is introduced. At the moment, that's 20 per cent in terms of absence. I'm gathering views on whether that should be decreased to 10 per cent, so that the support can be introduced sooner. We're funding family liaison officers and education welfare officers to support that process too.
In terms of those people who opt to withdraw their children from schools, which is a different question to absence and attendance, there has been an increase, and it's important that we understand why, but at the moment, it's 1 per cent of children who are educated at home. The main reason is nothing to do with the curriculum; it's to do with a lifestyle choice or ideology. Those are the main reasons why people make that choice. And, of course, we have another programme to support those people who do make that decision.
The Member asked specific questions on the early findings work. That was based on our understanding of what needed additional emphasis in terms of understanding and learning. There are a variety of issues—with regard to professional learning, resources, guidance and advice, and additional funding too—that have followed the work that we've done on that. I'm not looking to add again to INSET days. We've extended the period where we provide an additional day for the curriculum and for relevant approaches.
In terms of school trips, resources for schools are the choice of local authorities that understand the context of a particular school when they make those decisions. But, just to be clear, I don't believe that it's just through organising expensive school trips that the curriculum can be provided in terms of activities outside school—I know you weren't suggesting that. I was at a school in Huw Irranca-Davies's constituency recently, and the head there showed a whole range of things in the community, which wasn't a particularly wealthy community. They were ways of teaching the curriculum on the doorstep. So, there are creative ways of doing that.

Paul Davies AC: Finally, Huw Irranca-Davies.

Huw Irranca-Davies AC: Diolch, Gadeirydd. You and I, Minister, have seen first-hand the way in which schools in the Bridgend area have engaged with the new curriculum, so it's great to have this statement today.
One of the things you won't see, and you're more than welcome to come down and see—. You mentioned earlier the role of credit unions. Indeed, the Bridgend Lifesavers Credit Union, of which I've been a 25-year Member, is engaged directly in schools, promoting responsible saving with young people, but also with their parents, which is fantastic.
I wonder if you can give us a brief update, linked to that, on the Robert Owen pilot project, because what we think is fascinating—and you, as a former chair of the co-operative group here at the Senedd as well, I know, are passionate about this—is actually developing an understanding and an awareness of co-ops in primary and secondary schools across Wales, three to 16 years. It's great to hear that going, so I'd love to see an update.
And, just finally, can you touch on the role of consortia and other partners in curriculum reform as well, as this goes forward? Diolch yn fawr.

Jeremy Miles AC: Thank you for that question. I certainly would be interested in looking at the work that's happening between credit unions and schools in your constituency; I think that's a really important development from our young people's point of view.
The Robert Owen project is a piece of work that is designed to improve the understanding of children and young people in Wales of the roles of co-operatives in society. The Member will remember the work that we've done successfully to educate young people about the role of trade unions from a social action, fair work and workplace rights point of view. Adopting a similar model, we're now rolling out a programme to teach them about co-operatives. It sits within the careers and work-related experience part of the curriculum, but, actually, it will end up being broader than that; it'll touch on broader social action, environmental principles, fair work, and other, if you like, co-operative values. The plan is that materials and resources will be available for all schools in Wales digitally and bilingually, obviously, and then teachers will be enabled to run those sessions for students and to resource them via social media platforms as well. So, it's a really good integrated part of the curriculum, and I hope we have the same success with that as we did with the unions project.
In relation to the role of the consortia and other education partners, I touched in passing in my answer to James Evans on the work that they do from a cluster working point of view, but, obviously, their role is much broader as school improvement services. And actually, what we have seen, given the level of reform in the system over recent years, is that there is now a need for us to look afresh at the roles and responsibilities of the education partners in what we call the middle tier, and that includes the school improvement services. So, I will be very, very shortly, actually, announcing a review of the roles and responsibilities of our education partners, and how school improvement arrangements—and they differ in different parts of Wales, actually—can support that national mission in education. So, I've given him an exclusive of something that I'll be announcing in the coming days.

Paul Davies AC: I thank the Minister.

5. Statement by the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip: Fairtrade Nation—15-year anniversary

Paul Davies AC: We move on now to item 5, which is a statement by the Minister for Social Justice: Fairtrade Nation—15-year anniversary. I call on the Minister for Social Justice, Jane Hutt.

Jane Hutt AC: Thank you very much. This year Wales is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary as a Fairtrade Nation, the world’s first Fairtrade Nation.

Jane Hutt AC: This year we're celebrating our fifteenth anniversary as a Fairtrade Nation, the world’s first Fairtrade Nation. This is a remarkable journey that started in 2002 when Ammanford became Wales’s first fair-trade town and progressed with Cardiff becoming the first fair-trade capital city in 2004, with Wales gaining Fairtrade Nation status in 2008. The desire to make Wales a Fairtrade Nation came from the many people across Wales who have a passion for fairness both at home and globally. I would like to place on record my thanks to all the fair trade campaigners and volunteers who have worked so hard to promote fair trade and trade justice, with 64 places in Wales registering their community with the Fairtrade Foundation. Also, I'd like to thank the hundreds of thousands of shoppers who choose fair-trade products every day.
The concept of fair trade is based on ensuring social justice and mutual benefit. Fair trade provides producers and farmers with opportunities to achieve a better standard of living for themselves and their families through their own efforts, and with dignity. It helps to ensure a fair price is paid to severely impoverished farmers who traditionally have little influence or power in global market structures. It is a system that allows the farmers to have more control over their lives and their community’s development. One of the highlights since gaining Fairtrade Nation status was the International Fair Trade Towns conference held in Cardiff in October 2019, which was attended by over 400 people from 41 countries. It was great to see the enthusiasm for fair trade and knowledge being shared amongst the attendees.
Each year, our minds are particularly focused onto fair trade by Fairtrade Fortnight, when all groups in Wales increase their activity, from the serious to the silly. The theme this year for Fairtrade Fortnight was ‘Food—making the switch’, and different parts of Wales delivered on this theme in a number of different ways. Blaenau Gwent held a Welsh cake baking competition, Dinas Powys held a fair-trade art competition for young people, the eco committee at Hendrefoilan Primary School in Swansea held an assembly on fair trade and how it's a fairer system for people at the bottom of the supply chain, whilst in Bangor they held an event with the North Wales Africa Society on the impact of climate change on food security. Fair Trade Ways Wales kicked off Fairtrade Fortnight with a walk from Llandelio to Dryslwyn. Joined by members of the Co-op, children from four schools and people from the wider community, the walk provided an opportunity to spark conversation on all things fair trade and the future of food.
The Welsh Government often sponsors a visitor to Wales who has a packed programme of events and speaking engagements. During the last 15 years we have welcomed Brazilian and Ugandan coffee farmers, an Indian cotton farmer, Palestinian olive oil producers, a chocolate farmer from Ghana, a silver miner from Peru, a Columbian banana farmer and many more. Each of them has shared stories of the benefits that fair trade has brought to their families and communities with many hundreds of people. It is that connection between producers and consumers that really makes a difference.
This year I visited Cardiff Metropolitan University along with Fair Trade Wales. Cardiff Met have recently been awarded first place in the People & Planet sustainable university scheme out of 153 UK universities. This is another clear demonstration of Wales’s ability to be a genuine leader in this field. I also visited the fair-trade shop Sussed in Porthcawl. This shop, founded by and supporting the charity Sustainable Wales, is a community-owned co-operative staffed entirely by volunteers—a place where everyone has an equal say, promoting workplace democracy.
Members will be aware of our support for Jenipher’s Coffi, and many of you will have met Jenipher and Nimrod on one of their recent visits to Wales. Our Wales and Africa programme has worked with their organic and fair-trade certified coffee co-op for many years. We took our support further when we made a commitment to buy their coffee for sale in Welsh Government outlets with the creation of Jenipher’s Coffi, now an independent business in Wales working alongside Ferrari's Coffee in Pontyclun. This partnership is importing top-quality organic and fair-trade certified coffee to Wales and is helping farmers work in harmony with nature.
I was very pleased to see the number and diversity of groups in the Neuadd today from around Wales displaying their fair-trade products. It was wonderful to see the variety of goods available to the public. It was also a pleasure to see fellow Members at the event to celebrate the 15-year milestone, and to hear the inspirational discussions taking place.
However, this milestone is only the beginning, and we look forward to continuing to work with Fair Trade Wales for many years to come as we face the growing threat of climate change. To better meet that challenge, the Fairtrade Nation criteria are being refreshed to better reflect ambitions for the future. We will be measuring levels of awareness, engagement with campaigns, consumption and production of fair-trade goods, political engagement with the issue and engagement with wider trade justice issues to better reflect a world that has changed so much in the last 15 years.
These new criteria, along with detailed guidelines, have been developed in consultation with key stakeholders, and alongside Fair Trade Wales’s partners in Scotland, who followed Wales’s lead, becoming a Fairtrade Nation 10 years ago. These new criteria will allow other nations to join us in support of a fairer world for small producers. Thanks to the leadership shown by the people of our small nation, we confidently look forward to being joined by other Fairtrade Nations in the future. Diolch, acting Presiding Officer.

Joel James AS: Thank you, Minister, for your statement. I'd like to start by thanking those who work tirelessly to promote and encourage businesses to sell fair-trade products. It is undoubtedly this behaviour that encourages the sustainable manufacturing and production of fair-trade goods and services that allows everyone to benefit from this market.
It also goes without saying that everyone here in this Chamber is eternally grateful to all those businesses and customers that continually value and purchase fair-trade products, helping some of the poorest communities in the world. I'm extremely delighted to join in the celebration of Wales's fifteenth anniversary of being a Fairtrade Nation, and in the renewing of the UK Fairtrade Foundation, because it presents a perfect opportunity to reflect upon the work that has been done, and to reflect upon the work that is necessary going forward. It is important to remember that we are still very much at the start of a journey that is needed to address how we consume as a nation and as a world, and any effort undertaken to improve the lives of those who produce and create for us should always be welcomed.
In your statement today, Minister, you mentioned stronger criteria. I believe that we all welcome a renewed effort to understand the current appetite for fair-trade products and help people engage with campaigns, and your political engagement on this issue. With this in mind, Minister, what consideration have you given to commissioning work to understand the true potential for fair-trade products in Wales by mapping their potential market across the country? This knowledge will help businesses to understand the potential increase in trade that they may well have if they stock fair-trade products and create better market conditions for supplying a larger range.
There is an obvious area of fair-trade growth in Wales within the public sector when they source goods. I would therefore like to know what specific attempts you have made to integrate fair-trade products into the public sector in Wales. What recommendations have you given to businesses that are in receipt of Welsh Government funding about the need to sourcefair-trade products wherever possible?
Turning to the range of products that we have available to us as fair trade in Wales, we are, of course, aware of the high-profile ones such as tea, coffee, chocolate and fruit, but what is being done to actively encourage the introduction of other products on to the market? As you know, for more fair-trade products to be introduced, you have to create the awareness and market for them, so, what investment have you made in helping to promote less prominent fair-trade products on a national level?
I believe that we are all well aware that fair-trade products predominantly come from southern hemisphere countries, and it’s one of the most significant sectors of northern hemisphere ethical consumerism. However, we must be mindful that, with this, there is a higher carbon footprint from sourcing goods form such distances, especially when we have the availability of some of these products much closer to home.For instance, how can one justify promoting fair-trade wool products from Chile or Nepal, with a higher carbon footprint, and not the promotion of wool products made locally in Wales and sourced from Welsh sheep? This is not to be critical of fair-trade products; when we must source goods from abroad, it is obviously better to buy fair trade, but there are other genuine ethical concerns that we must take into account.The logical argument then would be to help encourage the creation of fair-trade markets closer to the country of origin. With this in mind, Minister, what assessment have you made of the Welsh Government’s ability to do this? You have mentioned in the past that you have been working with Scotland’s fair-trade forum to share best practices and to ascertain the best ways of moving forward with fair trade, but how has this partnership benefited the creation of new fair-trade markets?
Wales is quite rightly proud of being a Fairtrade Nation, but this cannot just be a token gesture of promoting the businesses that sell fair trade; it must go much deeper. There has to be an effort to create change on a bigger scale. You have mentioned the new criteria for measuring awareness, but you have not mentioned anything regarding a strategy to improve fair-trade sales long term, which I hope you can address in your response.
We seem to look internationally towards ready-made fair-trade markets because of the branding aspect, but we seemingly ignore those opportunities for encouraging fair trade on our doorstep. This is something that I hope the Welsh Government addresses going forward. Thank you.

Jane Hutt AC: Diolch yn fawr, Joel James, for those questions and for that very strong statement of support for fair trade. I welcome the fact that you are also celebrating the fifteenth anniversary of Wales becoming a Fairtrade Nation.
You raised really important questions about the changes that have taken place over the past 15 years. This was very much addressed at the event that was held in the Senedd this morning, where we were looking to the future, particularly in relation to refreshing criteria, but looking also at what our powers are, given, obviously, that the responsibility for international development lies with the UK Government.But we have this identifiably Welsh response to contributing to international development, when it comes to our support for fair trade. I think that this was very much linked, when we embarked on this 15 years ago, to the ways in which we were looking towards achieve the UN sustainable development goals, and the decade of action towards agenda 2030. Those are still very strong and clear, in terms of our motivations.
One of the three core aims set out in our international strategy is to establish Wales as a globally responsible nation. I am very proud of the work that we are doing to meet this commitment, but we have to look outwards to those countries where we feel we can better understand our own role in the world, learn from each other and look at how we can create opportunities for fairer lives and tackling inequalities and health inequities as we do so. And that’s really where civil society, business, as you say, and all those who seek to actually embrace the fair-trade objectives and show that we can help embrace successful, sustainable development through this—.
Now, it is important that we look at what we can do in terms of ensuring that global responsibility and ethical procurement. I think that that’s really strengthened by the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023. We have partnered, over the last few months, with Fair Trade Wales and with a group of organisations to ensure that global responsibility and social and environmental justice are included within the law on public procurement that has now been passed, with the fair work in Wales.
It is important that we look at the importance of procurement for fair trade. It's a hugely successful movement, but we have to look at it in terms of the system of certification to see that a set of standards are met, with greater respect for the environment through co-operatives, workers' committees, and women taking an active role. But, looking at the opportunities we have in terms of our annual procurement spend of around £8 billion, the Welsh public sector, as you say, has a huge role to play in helping drive sustainable consumption and production in relation to sustainable development goal 12.
I think it's really important that Fair Trade Wales is working very closely with our social justice and equality committee, particularly in relation to embracing the procurement opportunities within fair trade. So, we are developing new criteria, and this is right in terms of the way forward. I think, just to say a couple of points about those new criteria—I've mentioned them in my statement—we have to raise wider awareness of fair trade. We have to engage different sectors of society, and we have to make sure that there's political support and engagement with fair trade and that we also tackle inequalities in global trade and society, and that they're challenged by fair trade. So, this provides a real opportunity for us to look at this, particularly recognising that this is something where we can have an influence, and we can work with fair trade, as we are, indeed, with our colleagues in Scotland, not just the Government, but in the Scottish Parliament as well.

Sioned Williams AS: Thank you for the statement, Minister. It's a cause of great celebration to celebrate the 15 years since Wales announced that it was a Fairtrade Nation. Plaid Cymru joins you, Minister, in your pride at all of the work that Fair Trade Wales have achieved and the positiveimpact that they have had, in growing the fair trade movement in Wales and in developing and promoting international partnerships. That famous logo on foods and products means so much, doesn't it? It'ssuch a special symbol of ensuring fairness for producers, alleviating poverty, ensuring better working conditions and better rights for workers, ensuring better and sustainable production methods to help the environment and to empower communities that are marginalised and those specific members of the community under economic disadvantage, such as women.
It's becoming increasingly clear and vital that we need to ensure fundamental and significant changes to customer and consumer behaviour and international trade that are damaging to the climate and are damaging to equality. Changing the capitalist practices that depend on the creation of profit and the creation of inequality is vitally important. But how can fair trade and Wales as a Fairtrade Nation contribute to that? It's encouraging that awareness of and increasing demand for sustainable products are to be seen, but, in previous years, there have been significant challenges to the aim of being a Fairtrade Nation, and our part in developing fair trade internationally, including the impacts of Brexit on trade, the impact of the climate change crisis on farmers and producers worldwide, and, of course, recently, the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, not just on the practices of customers and trends in consumption, but also on those who produce food and goods.
According to a report by Endangered Aisle, which surveys shoppers to see how climate change is likely to drive the practices of supermarkets in future, 50 per cent said price is a barrier to shopping sustainably, and that they would be searching for the cheapest option every time. The cost-of-living crisis is endangering and will prevent people from making that choice, choosing those fair trade options. One of the heads of the Fairtrade Foundation, Anna Barker, has told us about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and that that will be something that impacts farmers too, saying that we're going to see farmers considering whether they are in the right industry if they can't sell their produce for a price that meets the production cost.
There is hope, however, that fair trade will be able to overcome the economic pressures, with some supermarkets, I was very pleased to see recently, ensuring that their budget ranges now also include fair trade products, providing a real choice for those shoppers who find it difficult to cope with the increases in food prices. But are the supermarkets and shops, in doing so, at the same time providing clothes and foods that have been produced by workers who are oppressed and exploited here and abroad, or trade with companies that contribute to deforestation and pollution, how can they justify those two things? How can we keep a weather eye on those?
Minister, without the powers to regulate the way that products that reach us contribute to the fair trade goals, how will the Government work with Welsh companies to safeguard and promote the rights of farmers, producers and workers who are part of the supply chains in a way that is meaningful and holistic, and not tokenistic? And what assessment has the Minister made of the cost-of-living crisis and the impact that that will have on our aim of being a Fairtrade Nation?You spoke in your statement and then in your response about these new criteria. Can we have more detail on how these criteria, in your vision, reflect the changes that have been in our society and our world over the past 15 years, and the political situation in the United Kingdom now?
And finally, the fair trade movement have pointed to concerns following the Independent Commission for Aid Impact review of the support available to trade in the United Kingdom, stating that the United Kingdom isn’t doing enough to meet those in greatest need within communities, including the cocoa sector. The ICAI gave an amber red score for the UK Government in its recent review that assessed how well support for a trade intervention has supported low-income nations to expand their trade and to contribute to economic growth and to decrease poverty. Mike Gidney, the chief executive officer of the Fairtrade Foundation, said that since the Government introduced changes to the overseas aid budget, it’s become more important than ever that our overseas aid is spent well and is directed to those who need it most.
So, Minister, whilst we are tied into decisions by ideological decisions made by the UK Government and without the powers to ensure that Wales can ensure trade fairness and deliver equality sustainability in terms of the environment, how can we ensure that fair trade Wales can succeed in that context?

Jane Hutt AC: Diolch yn fawr, Sioned Williams, and can I thank you, particularly, for drawing attention to the global changes, the changes as a result of Brexit, the cost-of-living crisis, and the impact that has on our ambitions, and indeed, the challenges that we have now to actually progress fair trade as a meaningful partnership with those we are working with, to actually provide those opportunities that we want to achieve as well, in support of those producers and farmers and their families to achieve a better standard of living?
I think we’ve got to recognise in terms of climate change—. This was very much a focus of the Fairtrade Fortnight, and many of you from across the Chamber will have been involved in events, as well as the children and young people who undertook to write poems and draw pictures, do designs about the theme, the message that, making a small switch to fair trade supports producers in protecting the future of some of our most loved food and the planet. So, they were making that connection, and in the curriculum as well, very clearly, these children and young people, as we saw from the wonderful songs we heard from Dinas Powys Primary School, I have to say, in my constituency, who brought with them the fair-trade food that they have all grown to love and eat and share.
But actually, climate change is making crops like coffee, bananas—and that also was raised by Joel James as well—and chocolate becoming harder to grow, so much more difficult to buy. And you can see the impact that the cost of living is having on our fair-trade farmers, but also on our communities as well in Wales in terms of supporting these issues.I mean, more people choosing fair trade, actually does, yes, mean extra income, power and support for those communities, and it is helping to support producers, but in terms of protecting the future of some of our most loved foods and the planet, that was the message in Fairtrade Fortnight this week.
Thank you for drawing attention to the ICAI report, which I will look at carefully, but, I think you also drew attention to the really important role of women in terms of fair trade; the coffee growers like Jenipher, Jenipher's Coffi, a really practical demonstration of fair trade in action—I have to say, Jenipher herself spoke at COP26; I expect the Minister for Climate Change will have been there when she did, and others here today—helping farmers, working in harmony with nature, but, as a women-led farmer, leading the way for women and their communities.
I think we have got opportunities now with the new criteria, refreshing the fair-trade criteria to better reflect fair-trade ambitions for the future, but that is actually working with our partners, and the partners who we're working with, particularly through the Wales and Africa programme, it's strengthening that collaborative approach and ensuring that the new criteria can be applied to administrations internationally, enhancing monitoring processes of Fairtrade Nation criteria as well.
So, this is where we do need to work together. And it is interesting that, in every part of Wales, and in some of the most disadvantaged areas and communities where, actually, fair trade may be more costly, there are communities engaging and seeking to buy fair trade, to support fair trade, from Hendrefoilan Primary School pupils, the eco-committee, recognising that fairer system for people at the bottom of the supply train; to Ysgol yr Hendy in Carmarthenshire and Fochriw primary in Bargoed in Caerphilly, holding a fair-trade coffee morning, and recognising that this was a choice, even in these very difficult times. But I hope you will see that this is an ongoing and developing conversation with our partners in fair trade, and very much linked, again, as I've said, to the social partnership and public procurement Bill. And I have to say that the people who have been working on statutory guidance include the Size of Wales, Amnesty Wales, Cytûn, WWF Cymru, Oxfam Cymru and the Welsh Centre for International Affairs.

John Griffiths AC: Thank you for your statement today, Minister. It's absolutely right that we celebrate Wales as a Fairtrade Nation for 15 years now, and I was very pleased to host the event in the Senedd today.
Back in 2008, in fact, I was at Newport when it was recognised that Wales had become the first Fairtrade Nation, and we shared our learning, in fact, with global activists from many countries. I think that illustrates that fair trade is one part of Wales being connected to the rest of the world, one part of our internationalism, which I believe is a very healthy thing indeed. And we now have Welsh Government, local authorities, our towns, cities and villages, schools, communities and businesses bought into and helping our fair-trade efforts. We know from research last year, Minister, that, in fact, people in Wales are more likely to buy products based on a company's engagement with global poverty than anywhere else in the UK, which illustrates why it's so important that our politicians in Wales, as they do, support and champion fair trade.
Minister, when I was in Mbale in Uganda, I saw first-hand the value of the fair-trade premium when I spoke to a family who were involved in the coffee co-op that Wales sponsors through fair trade. They told me that because they now had an income from their membership of that co-op, whereas before they'd been subsistence farmers, they were able to pay for one of their children to go to university—

Paul Davies AC: The Member now needs to come to a question, please.

John Griffiths AC: Thank you, Llywydd dros dro. Would you agree with me, then, Minister, that if we get out and about and see the practical impact of Wales as a Fairtrade Nation in the countries that we help, we will, I think, see the true value of these efforts?

Jane Hutt AC: Diolch yn fawr, John Griffiths. Of course, I'm sure we were there together on the great occasion where we celebrated Wales being the first Fairtrade Nation, I think. I remember the event; Rhodri Morgan, I remember. I think Hilary Benn came down to the event as well. There are some of us who were there. We did recognise that we were doing something and we had to make it meaningful in terms of what being a Fairtrade Nation was. I think it is demonstrated by the dozens of small civil society groups across Wales. You've mentioned local authorities, schools. We have—. In terms of schools, we know that there are Fairtrade Foundation—. Forty-four schools in Wales are listed as being on one of the three fair-trade stages of the schools criteria. And schools are doing many activities and making awards, and also just recognising, even through the difficult times, that they wanted to acknowledge, through the pandemic, that this was, Fairtrade Fortnight was, an important event.
But it's also working with our African partners, as you say, on education, climate change initiatives, health, sports and culture projects. So, I just want to also acknowledge the fact that you visited Mbale. You will know, as I've mentioned, that many have met with Jenipher Sambazi and Nimrod Wambett from the Mount Elgon co-operative, and they came here, to Tŷ Hywel, earlier this year, and we discussed fair trade and the positive impact it's having, and many Senedd Members were engaged in that. But I think what's important is that we are now, as a nation, importing that top-quality fair-trade and organic coffee grown by those tree-planting farmers. And also, on International Women's Day, we celebrated women’s empowerment projects, which were funded through Hub Cymru Africa.

Jane Dodds AS: Good afternoon, Minister, and I do congratulate the people of Wales for their continuing faith in fair-trade products and their continued commitment to Wales being an ethical and responsible trading union, and I do thank you for your work and commitment on this as well.
It's great as well to hear that there are going to be new criteria that will go some way towards addressing larger ecological crises, while making a real impact on the lives and livelihoods of small producers. We know, though, that a key principle of responsible public consumption is standing up to those nations who infringe human rights or conduct abuses of their workers. Earlier this year, the Welsh Government opposed an amendment I tabled to the public procurement Act that would have made an explicit commitment towards global responsibility when it came to our public procurement here in Wales. This is something put forward by organisations such as Size of Wales, which I know have been with us today in the Neuadd. We must make sure that we have these commitments to globally responsible procurement, so I'm interested in what consideration you would give, Minister, towards meeting this commitment to being a globally responsible Wales as part of transitioning towards our new fair-trade criteria. Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd dros dro.

Jane Hutt AC: Diolch yn fawr, Jane Dodds, and thank you for our ongoing support, including the engagement you have with fair-trade communities and businesses in your region. I very much acknowledge the points that you raised during the social partnership and public procurement Act discussion scrutiny. I just want to reassure, again, that the procurement duties in that Act now, in the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023, do require contracting authorities to embed the sustainable development principle through all their procurement spend, and that includes the globally responsible Wales goal, and I know that the Minister responded to you, when you raised this point in the debate. And I think it was important that that scrutiny did enable us to look at strengthening this aspect of the Bill. We're actually looking at ways in which we can ensure that we can embed this priority within statutory guidance, and that means that primary legislation in Wales will strengthen existing policy on ethical procurement, and that's been our policy priority for many years, and it very much brings the Fairtrade Nation and our goals and our partnership with fair-trade partnership to the fore.
But I'll just finally say, in 2017, we published our code of practice on ethical employment in supply chains. It now has over 500 signatory organisations from all sectors, and its guide to tackling modern slavery and human rights abuses includes a section on fair trade. So, you helped to influence the way forward in terms of the development of these important commitments.

Rhianon Passmore AC: Wales has a strong record in ethical, fair trade, and I want to thank the Minister, Jane Hutt, for the part that she's played in that, and also thank you for the statement today and the emphasis on the sustainable development goals and equality.
Fair trade is not just of importance to co-operators in this room, of whom I'm one, but, as a former chair and secretary of Islwyn co-operative society, I, alongside many of my members, have taken pride in many opportunities to market and offer fair-trade goods to the public, simply because we know that fair trade is what it says on the tin, or the bottle, or the packet: fair trade is just good for all involved, providing ethical procurement, ethical supply chains and equitable payment in an increasingly impoverished world. But, sadly, some global monopolies are predicated on exploiting worker production as an integral part of their growth strategies, and in particular across mining trades globally, with common use of child labour and intolerable conditions, but whose end products provide our first-world shiny iPhones and laptops and electric eco, green car batteries. So, Minister, how can we in Wales further advance and promote the agenda and awareness of fair trade and work to engender a more equal and safe trade for all within an ethical supply chain for our twenty-first century desirable technology?

Jane Hutt AC: Diolch yn fawr, Rhianon Passmore. I have already responded, particularly in relation to the code of ethical supply chains in terms of ethical employment, which is crucially important, and, indeed, that also works with our guide to tackling modern slavery and human rights abuses that, as I said, has got a section on fair trade.
I just want to finally, on this point, say that we are involved in a Trade Justice Wales pilot. That's worked to ensure that, actually, the UK's new trade policy and trade agreements seek to support Welsh ambitions for a green and just recovery in line with our well-being of future generation goals, and it's brought together organisations and academics with an interest in different trade justice areas, has campaigned for a voice for Welsh civil society in UK trade policy. I know Fair Trade Wales has given evidence to the UK Trade and Business Commission's inquiry into devolution and levelling up, as an example. So, we need to look to that Trade Justice Wales pilot, and those engaged in it, to acknowledge the points that you've made. Can we thank the very many co-operators in this Chamber, who make sure that fair trade is at the forefront of their life choices, and, indeed, their commitment to the public and political service that fair trade sums up?

Paul Davies AC: Finally, Mark Isherwood.

Mark Isherwood AC: Diolch. Well, you mention Ammanford becoming Wales's first fair-trade town in 2002, and Cardiff becoming the first fair-trade capital city in 2004, but, of course, Wrexham became the first fair-trade county in the world in 2003. So, will you join me in thanking and celebrating the work that was carried out by TCC—Trefnu Cymunedol Cymru; Together Creating Communities—based in Wrexham, but working throughout north-east Wales, who campaigned for that first Wrexham fair-trade county status, who brought together the fair-trade coalition, who brought together the different parts of the community to sign the fair-trade charter there, and then established fair-trade coalitions in other counties across north Wales and beyond and got the charter together and brought together the various agencies to sign them? I signed many of those with great pleasure and commitment myself also, and I think their work was a huge, core, central contributory factor to Wales becoming the first Fairtrade Nation in 2008. So, I'm sure it's not an intentional omission, but I'd be grateful if you could incorporate them in your thanks and congratulations.

Jane Hutt AC: I certainly will do, Mark Isherwood—celebrating and thanking Wrexham for being right at the forefront of Wales becoming a Fairtade Nation back in 2003, and the organisations that engaged with that. So, certainly, we'd want to send our congratulations. I mean, this is an opportunity, isn't it, today, to again strengthen those partnerships, many of which have endured, some of which have had real difficulty in terms of moving forward, but you've drawn attention to a lot of good work that they've done in north Wales. Can I just mention another important business in north Wales, where, actually, Jenipher's Coffi is stocked, and that's the Camlan Garden Centre, Farm Shop and Cafe at Dinas Mawddwy, located in Snowdonia national park?

Paul Davies AC: I thank the Minister.

6. The Packaging Waste (Data Collection and Reporting) (Wales) Regulations 2023

Paul Davies AC: We'll move on now to item 6, the Packaging Waste (Data Collection and Reporting) (Wales) Regulations 2023. I call on the Minister for Climate Change to move the motion—Julie James.

Motion NDM8324 Lesley Griffiths
To propose that the Senedd, in accordance with Standing Order 27.5, approves that the draft The Packaging Waste (Data Collection and Reporting) (Wales) Regulations 2023 is made in accordance with the draft laid in the Table Office on 13 June 2023.

Motion moved.

Julie James AC: I move the motion.

Julie James AC: I thank the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee for its work in scrutinising this statutory instrument. These regulations are required so that packaging producers collect and report data on the amount and type of packaging they place on the market. They support our programme for government commitment on introducing producer responsibility. This data is needed to calculate the fees that producers will pay under the packaging reforms. These regulations will be in place for an interim period before being replaced by the regulations implementing the wider scheme.
Under the current Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007, producers with an annual turnover of £2 million, who handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging each year, are required to report data. These new regulations keep this threshold, but will require producers to report more granular data and more frequently. Additionally, the regulations will create a new de minimis threshold. Producers with an annual turnover of £1 million, who handle more than 25 tonnes of packaging per year, will be required to collect but not report data. To minimise the impact of these regulations on small businesses, producers that do not handle more than 25 tonnes of packaging and do not have a turnover of more than £1 million a year, will not be required to collect or report data. Mirroring regulations have been made in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland to enable the scheme to operate smoothly across the UK.
These regulations were laid and withdrawn in March 2023, due to comments received from the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee on the technical drafting of the text. In parallel, we were made aware that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the other nations were planning on introducing amending regulations to address clarity and policy intent. We have taken into account the feedback from the LJCC and the policy clarifications made by DEFRA in this draft.
As part of their report on the regulations, the LJCC identified the following three minor drafting errors: in regulation 2(1) in the English text, the corresponding Welsh terms haven't been included in italics and brackets after the definition of 'the 2003 Act', and 'branded packaging'; in regulation 16(6), in the Welsh text, the word 'data' is missing from the translation of the phrase 'data collection period'; and in Schedule 1, in paragraph 15(1)(b), the reference to 'sub-paragraph(a)' should instead be to 'paragraph (a)'. These are minor errors that do not change the operation of the regulations and, as such, they will be corrected prior to the making of the regulations.
In summary, these regulations are being brought in to support the implementation of the extended producer responsibility for packaging scheme, one of our programme for government commitments, which is an important step in contributing to the move to a circular net-zero carbon economy. It will not only help to further increase Wales's recycling rates and tackle littering, but also help keep materials in use while reducing the use of virgin raw materials, a key driver of the climate emergency. Diolch.

Paul Davies AC: I call on the Chair of the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee, Huw Irranca-Davies.

Huw Irranca-Davies AC: Thank you, Chair, and thank you, Minister, too. We considered these regulations on 3 July. Our report contains 13 reporting points—five technical points and eight merits points. I'm grateful to the Minister for her response.

Huw Irranca-Davies AC: Members will be aware that this is the third version of these regulations to be laid before the Senedd. Earlier versions had previously been withdrawn following consideration by our committee and our identification of a number of issues with the previous versions of the regulations. Now, these regulations, as the Minister has said, impose requirements on producers established in Wales to collect data on the packaging they supply to others, and they fall under the scope of the resources and waste common framework.
So, four of the five technical reporting points have been made because we consider the form or the meaning of certain elements of the regulations to require further explanation. The other technical reporting point highlights an inconsistency, as the Minister has said, between the meaning of the English and the Welsh text. So, Minister, in response to three of these points, you told us that you would seek to correct the errors that we had identified prior to making the regulations, subject to the Senedd approving the regulations this afternoon, and we welcome that. You told us that you'd draw these matters to the attention of the Senedd, you've done that, and we're grateful for it.
Minister, my colleague Alun Davies spoke on behalf of the committee in this Chamber last week, during the debate on the Animal By-Products, Pet Passport and Animal Health (Fees) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2023, and in that discussion, he highlighted that our committee had been told that errors in those regulations would also be corrected prior to the regulations being made. The Minister for Rural Affairs, North Wales, and Trefnydd committed to write to my committee outlining the changes made, so, Cadeirydd, we look forward to receiving that correspondence as well. Similarly, we'd welcome confirmation in writing of the changes being made to these regulations, Minister, just so that we're aware of it.
Finally, let me turn briefly to talk about the final point in our report, No.13. In that reporting point, we highlight the timeline for the various versions of these regulations, and noted that it was unclear why there's been a three-month delay between withdrawing version 2 and then laying these regulations that we are considering this afternoon, particularly given that fairly limited changes have been made to the form of the regulations when compared to the previous version laid. Now, in response we were told, Cadeirydd, that
'In between withdrawing and relaying the regulations, we took time to schedule sufficient quality assurance processes in terms of legal drafting and translation in order to minimise substantive errors.'
And we welcome that. The Welsh Government response also indicated it had liaised with the other Governments in the UK to clarify aspects of the policies in order to maintain regulatory alignment, and we welcome that. In fact, we welcome the serious attention that has been paid to the regulations before us this afternoon. But, Minister, you know our committee—we always then ask the follow-up question.
So, the response to that and the seriousness with which you've taken it led us to question what quality assurance processes were applied before, when preparing the earlier versions of the regulations. The response mentions minimising substantive errors also, rather than preventing all errors, as much as that is possible. We raised that as well because the Minister will be aware that even fairly minor errors can have an impact on something the Counsel General is very keen on, which is the accessibility of Welsh law. So, we raised some of these issues, actually, with the Counsel General yesterday afternoon, amongst a massive compendium of issues that we raised with him—fair play to the stamina of the Counsel General in that session—and I’m sure we will return to these issues in due course. But, Minister, thank you for addressing those issues and the points that our committee raised.

The Deputy Presiding Officer (David Rees) took the Chair.

I call on the Minister to reply to the debate.

Julie James AC: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Thank you very much, Huw, for your contribution. As I outlined in my opening remarks, the sole purpose of the regulations is to enable the collection and reporting of data to inform the calculation of producer fees in the extended producer responsibility for packaging scheme. We will make the minor amendments I mentioned, and I am very happy to say that I will confirm the making of the amendments in writing to your committee.
In terms of the timing, I know that the Chair of the committee knows very well that we were attempting to align with the other UK nations, and that that caused both quality assurance issues and timing issues that we have now put right by going slightly on our own way. I will say as well—though he didn't specifically ask this, but just for Members of the Senedd to be aware—it does mean that the data reporting periods are slightly misaligned, and we expect them to align next year. So, there is a small period where we're out of alignment while we get the regulations to line up across all four UK nations, as a result of the multiple times these regulations have had to be amended in various legislatures. So, I know the Chair is aware of those small problems.
As I said, Dirprwy Lywydd, the EPR for packaging scheme is one of our programme for government commitments and will help tackle the climate and nature emergency, and contribute to the move to a circular net-zero carbon Wales. As such, I move the motion and commend it to the Senedd. Diolch.

The proposal is to agree the motion. Does any Member object? No. The motion is therefore agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.

Motion agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.

7. Debate: Welsh Government Annual Report—Delivering the Government’s priorities and legislative programme

The following amendments have been selected: amendments 1 and 2 in the name of Heledd Fychan, and amendment 3 in the name of Darren Millar.

Item 7 is the Government's debate: the Welsh Government's annual report—delivering the Government’s priorities and legislative programme. I call on the First Minister to move the motion. Mark Drakeford.

Motion NDM8325 Lesley Griffiths
To propose that the Senedd, in accordance with Standing Order 11.21(ii):
Notes:
a) the Welsh Government Annual Report 2022/23;
b) progress on the Legislative Programme.

Motion moved.

Mark Drakeford AC: Dirprwy Lywydd, last week the second annual report of this Senedd term was published, marking the progress that we continue to make towards the commitments of the programme for government. The challenges faced during the past 12 months were unprecedented—a combination of economic and fiscal pressures produced by one of the most difficult financial situations that this nation has ever experienced.

Mark Drakeford AC: All that means, Dirprwy Lywydd, that I have to begin this afternoon by saying that while progress in the second year of our programme has been significant, the current year is already much more difficult, and the next financial year is set to be more difficult still. In this year, our settlement is worth up to £900 million less in real terms than was expected when it was set by the current Prime Minister, who was then the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in October 2021. Our capital budget will be 5 per cent lower in real terms next year than last year, because of the inexplicable failure of the UK Government to invest in public infrastructureat a time when interest rates were low. All of thishas direct, unavoidable and adverse consequences for the delivery of our programme for government.

Mark Drakeford AC: Dirprwy Lywydd, against this backdrop of renewed austerity, I'm proud of what we have delivered in this second year of our programme. We continue to progress the co-operation agreement with Plaid Cymru, and we will publish the second annual report in December.I look forward to working with the new Plaid Cymru leader to continue delivery of our shared and ambitious programme.
I turn now to the annual report itself, and it is central to our programme for government commitment that we create a Wales where people feel they have a future and that future is safeguarded. Investing in the places where people live is a key way in which this can be achieved, and there are a series of actions we have taken in the housing field, all set out in the annual report. We delivered 2,500 homes into the social rented sector in 2021-22, and we're spending record amounts on housing, although the stubbornly high levels of inflation mean that our money will not go as far as it did before the cost-of-living crisis hit. We continue to do everything we can to deliver the homes that people need, and that includes bringing long-term empty properties back into use and investing £76 million to create nearly 1,000 good-quality longer term homes for people in housing need. And we're taking radical action too, Dirprwy Lywydd, UK-leading action, to address the problems of too many second homes that face too many Welsh communities. Our Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 has come into force, helping to make renting fairer by giving tenants more legal protection—necessary legal protection in these difficult times.
The focus on place too shapes the programme for government commitment that people in Wales, whatever their background, wherever they come from, are welcome as citizens of Wales. In the midst of this ongoing cost-of-living crisis, people in every part of our nation have shown unwavering compassion and humanity for those fleeing conflicts around the world. This has been most vividly seen, of course, in the response to the war in Ukraine, as thousands of people have opened their homes here in Wales to others escaping the fighting—a real example of our ambition to be that nation of sanctuary in action. I want to thank everyone for the way in which they have welcomed people seeking safety and sanctuary to our country. It says so much about the place we want Wales to be, as indeed does our promise to celebrate diversity and to eliminate inequality, a promise embedded in our LGBTQ+ action plan, furthering our aim to become the most LGBTQ+ friendly nation in Europe, and the progress we are making in our 'Anti-racist Wales Action Plan' implementation as well.
Dirprwy Lywydd, the annual report demonstrates that such places and such ambitions succeed when they are supported by our public services, and the annual report shows how we continue to invest in those services, to make them in tune with the needs of contemporary Wales. Last week, the NHS celebrated its seventy-fifth birthday, and we are rightly proud of that national health service and the tens of thousands of staff who are at its beating heart. Even in these toughest of times, we have committed more than £1 billion in additional funding over the course of this Senedd term to help it to recover from the pandemic and to reduce waiting times. Thanks to the hard work of staff all over Wales, those long waits are falling. We've worked with our GP community to improve access to appointments and launched the NHS '111 press 2' service across Wales, right across Wales now, providing access to mental health support whenever people need it.
Alongside our health service, we are proud to have delivered the real living wage to our social care workforce as well. At the same time as we've expanded our childcare offer, making more families eligible for funded childcare, I am very proud that we have launched the basic income pilot for care leavers, the most extensive scheme of its kind in the world.
And, Dirprwy Lywydd, we've been no less ambitious in our delivery of education programmes in the year covered by the annual report, because we want our young people to be part of that future we are creating for our country. The year covered by the report was a momentous year, as the new Curriculum for Wales was rolled out in all our primary schools and with half our secondary schools already participating, and the remaining schools joining this journey in September of this year.
Wales has had, Dirprwy Lywydd, the highest level of COVID recovery funding in schools in the whole of the United Kingdom. It's that additional funding that has allowed us to appoint more than 2,400 additional staff, providing that boost to our children in that COVID recovery period. And alongside that for our young young people, the roll-out of free school meals in primary schools has seen more than 5 million extra meals provided since September 2022, a period in which we were the only part of the UK to raise the educational maintenance allowance to £40 a week, just as we have retained free prescriptions, free hospital parking and free bus travel for the over-60s and those eligible disabled people.

Mark Drakeford AC: We have developed and funded free Welsh lessons for young people between the ages of 16 and 25, as we continue to work towards our target of a million Welsh speakers by 2050.

Mark Drakeford AC: Our flagship young person's guarantee is helping people under 25 secure a better future, supporting more than 20,000 people since its launch in 2021, and delivering more than 28,000 all-age apprenticeships since the last Senedd election.
Dirprwy Lywydd, let me turn now to the defining challenge of our time, that of climate change. There is now irrefutable evidence that the climate and nature emergencies are having an impact on us in the here and now. They are not problems for another day or another group of people to solve. This Government is determined that we take climate change with the seriousness that it deserves. It's why we commissioned the independent roads review, and while we will not stop building roads in Wales, it does mean that the bar for doing so is much higher than in previous generations, as we balance those priorities and obligations—our economic obligations and our climate responsibilities—at the same time. It's why we invest in active travel routes to encourage people to walk or cycle for short journeys instead of using their car, and Wales will become the first part of the United Kingdom to change the default speed limit on residential roads to 20 mph, helping to make streets safer for children and for other road users.
And in the period covered by the annual report, Dirprwy Lywydd, as we move ahead with our ambition to create a national forest for Wales, we will fund 100 more tiny forests around our beautiful country, following the lead given in Barry, where I was lucky enough to be recently seeing a tiny forest already growing before people's eyes in that part of Wales. Alongside that are those 300,000 extra trees that were planted as we offered every household in Wales a free tree to plant.
Dirprwy Lywydd, I cannot hope to do justice to everything in our annual report this afternoon. I haven't even mentioned the legislative programme that made its way onto the statute book in the period covered by the report, that landmark legislation that will ban the sale of some of the most commonly littered single-use plastics, the first ever Welsh consolidation Bill passed unanimously on the floor of the Senedd.
But let me end where I began, by returning to the challenges we face as a Government in this year and the next. The storm of financial and economic pressures is on us now. It will mean unprecedented impacts on delivery, and we're preparing, as we must, for the difficult choices that will be needed. When the programme for government, reflected in the annual report, was written, the economic climate was dramatically different. There was no cost-of-living crisis. Liz Truss and her ill-conceived mini-budget hadn't almost trashed the money markets, sending shock waves through public finances. It wasn't a year of three different Prime Ministers, and we weren't on the precipice of a fresh mortgage meltdown. That is the context in which the third annual report will inevitably be written.

Mark Drakeford AC: Dirprwy Lywydd, the future looks difficult for families and for this Government too, but we will continue to do everything within our ability to deliver the pledges that we made to the people of Wales and to create a stronger, fairer and greener Wales for the future. Thank you very much.

I have selected the three amendments to the motion, and I call on Rhun ap Iorwerth to move amendments 1 and 2, tabled in the name of Heledd Fychan.

Amendment 1—Heledd Fychan
Add new point at end of motion:
Welcomes the continued progress made as part of the Cooperation Agreement between Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Government which has implemented a number of transformational policies as part of the Programme for Government.

Amendment 2—Heledd Fychan
Add new point at end of motion:
Believes that the annual report and legislative programme demonstrate that the Welsh Government does not have all the levers necessary to ensure meaningful and sustainable improvements to the lives of the people of Wales, that we must continue to make the case for additional powers but that ultimately, independence is the most feasible means to achieve a greener, fairer, more prosperous Wales.

Amendments 1 and 2 moved.

Rhun ap Iorwerth AC: Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. As we come to the end of another Senedd term, almost halfway through the sixth Senedd, it’s a good time to evaluate the current situation of Wales and to ask ourselves as Members openly and honestly: are we doing everything that we can to promote the interests of Wales? It’s easy to focus on the negatives, but, as someone who always favours celebrating the positives about Wales, we would prefer if we didn’t have to look at the negatives.
But I do want to start on a positive note, reflecting on the significant successes that have emerged from the co-operation agreement with the Government. Almost two years now into the agreement, this mature way of doing politics, putting the nation before party in many ways, continues to bear fruit. We’ve taken major steps forward in terms of delivering our ambition that schoolchildren in Wales don’t go hungry at school. Expanding the free childcare programme continues to gain ground, where there is delay in Westminster. We are gaining ground on integrating health and care, which is so important to the future of that sector. We are working on making Wales the most LGBTQ+-friendly nation inEurope.

Rhun ap Iorwerth AC: From a legislative proposal, we worked with the Government to deliver the social partnership and public procurement Bill to entrench fair work practices and ensure that Welsh businesses reaped the rewards of public procurement. And the agriculture Bill, of course, will secure the future of our vital farming industry in this uncertain post-Brexit world. And the soon-to-introduced Senedd reform Bill, of course—the most substantial package of reform to our democracy in a quarter of a century—will ensure that devolution in Wales finally comes of age. What this conclusively shows, I think, is that Plaid Cymru doesn't shy away from the big challenges facing our country—we confront them head-on with ambition in our veins and enthusiasm in our hearts to deliver for the people of Wales, regardless of whether they voted for us on these benches or not. Put simply, when Plaid Cymru has a seat at the table of Government, the whole of Wales wins.
But the co-operation agreement, for all its success in delivering far-reaching benefits for the people of Wales, can only take us so far, and it's an inescapable reality that there is much to regret about the state of the nation in 2023. With stubbornly high waiting times, acute staff shortages and perennial dysfunctionality at Besti Cadwaladr, it's no exaggeration to say that the NHS in Wales faces an existential crisis in its seventy-fifth year. The cost-of-living crisis, leaving so many households struggling to afford the bare essentials, shows no sign of abating 13 years of brutal Tory austerity later. The economic climate in Wales is also bleak—unemployment on the rise, persistently high inactivity rates, little or no improvement on rates of productivity, leaving us in the all too familiar position as the poor relation in this union of unequals. Meanwhile, the climate emergency continues to loom large over us as we edge ever closer to the point of no return for our planet.
And, do you know, the common thread that runs through all of these issues is Wales's fundamental lack of agency to shape its own future. I want to see a Wales that is fairer, that is happier, that is prosperous, that is self-confident, but we can't wait around for others to build this brighter future for us. We have to take our destiny in our own hands. And I'm sure the First Minister will agree with me that the first port of call is to rid ourselves of this Tory UK Government, whose catastrophic mismanagement of the economy has cost us so dearly. But, whereas the First Minister has pinned his faith in the restorative potential of a UK Labour Government, all the evidence so far points towards more of the same from Keir Starmer, seen in the proposals set out in the Gordon Brown report for constitutional reform—offering nothing for Wales beyond a significantly watered down version of this Labour Government's position on the devolution of justice and policing. Red or blue, the hue of the governing party at Downing Street doesn't alter the fact that Wales will always be an afterthought for Westminster.
My plea to the First Minister is to be more ambitious for Wales. I want the best for Wales. To get the best for Wales, we need to expand the boundaries of our ability to govern ourselves, and the natural destination for that journey is to be an independent nation. And I ask all of Wales to join us on that journey, to explore the potential, even if you're not yet persuaded of that final destination. The Wales we want is within reach, but only if we have the will and the ambition to make it happen ourselves.

I call on Peter Fox to move amendment 3, tabled in the name of Darren Millar.

Amendment NDM8325-3 Darren Millar
Add new points at end of motion:
Believes that the annual report highlights the Welsh Government’s major failings in delivering for the people of Wales.Calls on the Welsh Government to address the pressures the health and education systems are under, which have both received real-term cuts in the Welsh Government’s 2023-24 budget.
Further calls on the Welsh Government to tackle the gap in take-home pay between Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom, along with Wales having the UK’s lowest employment rate.
Regrets that the legislative programme will not deliver the change Wales needs.

Amendment 3 moved.

Peter Fox AS: I move this amendment in the name of my colleague Darren Millar. When I read the Welsh Government's annual report, I was disappointed. I was quite amazed, actually. Anybody would think that things were fine here. The lack of a real, on-the-ground perspective of what things were actually like in Wales was, I have to say, quite staggering. It's worrying that the Government actually seems to be believing its own rhetoric about the state of Wales.The reality is that a huge number of people in Wales do not see the same Wales that Labour Ministers do. How could anyone believe the lines, for instance, on the state of the NHS in Wales—a service that sadly is being brought to its knees as a result of 25 years of Labour failure. And I make no criticism of the wonderful staff we have working in it. One in four people are still on the waiting list in Wales. And I know these figures are uncomfortable, and we have to keep repeating them because they're real. To make matters worse, 31,000 people in Wales are on a two-year waiting list. This is far higher than the 500 total of people in England. Access to dentistry is also dire, with some patients waiting up to 26 months before getting an appointment. Where is this mentioned in the report? All of this despite the fact—and I know this is an unpopular stance—the Welsh Government does receive £1.20 for every £1 spent in England, and we know from the auditor general in his independent review before COVID that only £1.05 was being spent.
The report also notes that the Welsh Government wants to make our cities, towns and villages even better places in which to live and work—commendable. But, the truth is that wages in Wales continue to fall far behind the rest of the UK—an astonishing £2,500 below elsewhere in the UK. Businesses continue to be hit with the highest business rates in Great Britain, and unemployment in Wales sits at the highest rate in the United Kingdom.
On education, the Welsh Government insists that they want to, and I quote,
'Continue our long-term programme of education reform, and ensure educational inequalities narrow and standards rise.'
However, it's abundantly clear that, under Labour, Welsh students are falling far behind their peers across the United Kingdom. It is under Labour in Wales that the number of teachers in primary and secondary schools has fallen since 2010, while in England there are over 24,000 more teachers. And it is under Labour that spending per pupil in Wales is £100 less than in England, when it should be 20 per cent more at least, meaning students in Wales are missing out on many hundreds each.
Turning to climate change and Labour's claim to embed their response to the climate and nature emergency in everything they do, despite the Senedd declaring a climate emergency, it's clear that the Welsh Government is not acting in a joined-up way. We are seeing a ban on road building—[Interruption.] Well, it feels like a ban to most people. And we've seen the forced implementation of default 20 mph speed limits across Wales, all under the guise of climate change, as well as safety. We are encouraged to switch to public transport or to move to electric vehicles, but the public transport is non-existent in many places, and as for EV, we haven't got anywhere near the amount of infrastructure in place that we need. The truth of the matter is that infrastructurepolicy in Wales is poorly thought out and disjointed.
I know that the stock answer—and we've heard it several times today—will be, as usual, to blame the UK Government, despite the fact that, for 25 years, it is successive Labour Governments that have left Wales in the state we are in now. We would all like a bigger cake, but we have what we have here. In all my years as a council leader, not once was I listened to regarding complaints I had about funding from the Welsh Government. Successive Ministers expected me to deliver with the resources that I had at my disposal, and I did. I couldn't keep playing the blame game. That's why it doesn't carry much weight with me, Dirprwy Lywydd.
Wales, quite rightly, expects real change, real action, not more of this avoiding scrutiny or shallow rhetoric, but a Welsh Government willing to accept that it's failing so many people, in so many ways, in so many areas. The Government here needs to produce an honest annual report that also highlights its shortcomings and tells the people how it's going to put things right. So, I say to my Labour colleagues: accept responsibility and urgently address the issues that matter most to the people of Wales. Diolch.

John Griffiths AC: I am pleased to speak in this debate today, and I do believe that our Welsh Labour Government has a strong record over the last year, even in the face of the UK Government's created difficulties—the cost-of-living crisis, the mismanagement and, indeed, crashing of the economy, rising inflation and rising interest payments, including for people with mortgages struggling to make ends meet. That UK record has resulted in public spending being able to buy far less than was the case, due to the effects of inflation, Dirprwy Lywydd, and that of course comes on the top of austerity since 2010, cumulatively eroding the spending power of the Welsh Government, and, of course, local authorities and a whole range of different organisations. That's the reality against which the Welsh Government has been delivering, and others have been delivering, over the past year. I'm pleased to say that even in the midst of all of that, the Welsh Government, I think, has been clear about its priorities, and they are the right priorities—priorities of social justice as well as meeting the challenges of climate change.
On climate change, Dirprwy Lywydd, I am very pleased that Newport has been able to play a strong role in greening our public transport system. The Welsh Government has invested £800 million in new trains and providing funding to decarbonise our buses to make transport as green as possible. I recently visited CAF in my constituency, where many of the new trains will be built, and we are very, very pleased to have that facility in Newport East. Newport is also leading the way in decarbonising our bus network, with the introduction of 12 electric buses replacing older petrol or diesel buses to ensure public transport meets its climate change obligations.
I'm very pleased as well that Wales continues to be one of the world's top recycling countries. Back in 1998-99, the recycling rate was 4.8 per cent. Now, thanks to £1 billion of investment since devolution in municipal recycling, the rate reached 65.2 per cent in November of last year, exceeding the statutory target, which was 64 per cent. In total, 16 of Wales's 22 local authorities have exceeded that statutory minimum target of 64 per cent, with some local authorities having exceeded the 2024-25 target of 70 per cent. I believe that's something that puts Wales right up there with best practice anywhere in the world.
So, Dirprwy Lywydd, we are making real progress, even in the face of the public spending restrictions and financial difficulties created by the UK Tory Government. But one thing I believe is crystal clear—the Welsh Government could do so much more. Wales could be so much better if we had a UK Labour Government, with a true partnership committed to social justice and committed to tackling climate change at both ends of the M4. I'm very hopeful that we will be in that position before too much longer.

Jane Dodds AS: Prif Weinidog, there are a number of areas of agreement between our parties, and a number of aspects of the programme for government and co-operation deal where we see synergy. I do welcome the progress that you've outlined, particularly in relation to things like the basic income pilot for our care-experienced young people, ending profit in care, restricting road building, a Ukrainian response that was actually a gold standard during that first year, and free school meals, amongst others. But I hope you don't mind, my very brief contribution is a bit like a sandwich—I'll do the nice bit, then the bit in the middle, which might be a little bit critical, and then I'll come back to the nice bit.
So, can I just raise a few issues, if that's all right, where I think we need further progress—healthcare and dentistry? We've moved a long way. We've seen the debate here in the Siambr looking at dentistry and what we can do to improve it. But we still know that there are thousands of people in Wales that still can't access a dentist. I got the figures for Powys Teaching Health Board recently, and they've gone up. We now see 5,000 people in Powys waiting for a dentist, of which 300 plus are children. So, we've still got a bit of a way to go there on dentistry.
On climate change, you talked about that, Prif Weinidog, being the biggest challenge of this Senedd, and indeed all the parliaments around the world. And yet a recent report from the Climate Change Committee said that Wales is not yet on track to meet its targets for the second half of this decade and beyond. We've got an issue here with coal mines in Wales that are still mining, with Ffos-y-fran and Glan Lash, and it would be great to see more progress and a much stronger responses to those coal mines that are still extracting coal.
And then homes, social homes. It's great to see the 2,500 social homes, but that's lower than needed. We need to see much more response and much faster. We need to see that there are effective responses to people living in fuel poverty. And it would be great to see, as soon as possible, the future iteration of the Warm Homes programme. We have with our homes a situation where they're still not insulated. I've said this before: it would take 135 years to insulate every fuel-poor home in Wales at the rate of delivery in recent years, and we really need to step up to that.
Just to finish, I am proud and pleased to be a Member of this Senedd, where I feel that politics is kinder, where people do work together to achieve change for the people of Wales, and where we want to be more ambitious, we want to be inspirational, and we want to be positive. We do need to connect better with our voters, which is why I'm going to finish with my pet subject of electoral reform. We're looking forward to a much better voting system here in the Senedd. It's not as good as it can be, as you know—and I will still talk about the single transferrable vote and how that's the best one—but it will deliver, I hope, a much more proportional system and it will, I hope, deliver a gender-balanced Senedd here next year as well. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Gareth Davies AS: It's a pleasure to take part in this debate this afternoon. I thank the First Minister and the Government for tabling this today, to have the opportunity to discuss the Welsh Government's annual report ahead of summer recess, nearly halfway through this five-year Senedd term—isn't time flying—and, quite possibly, with the Senedd reform proposals, in the last Senedd to be compiled as we currently know it, and have known it, since its inception in 1999.
Personally, I find these debates useful, as it's a great opportunity for backbenchers like me to have the chance to debate with the Government on some of the biggest issues facing Wales. While there are opponents to the principle of devolution in some strands of society, I'm not one of them. My simple response to that notion is that the Welsh Government are in charge of the issues that affect people's daily lives across Wales, from health and social care, our local councils, roads, transport, trains, buses, taxis, childcare provision—I could go on—but the point I'm making is that the principle of devolution, and the key decisions being made close to home, is a wonderful idea, and most people agree with that. But the sticking point to all of this is that we've had the same people in charge of Wales since the inception of devolution, much to the detriment of most of the population that this place serves.
Under 24 years of a Labour Government, propped up by Plaid Cymru, we have seen NHS waiting times increasing, education standards languishing at the bottom of the Programme for International Student Assessment league tables across UK nations, poor levels of house building despite an increasing population over the last quarter of a century, and road infrastructure failing to keep up with modern demands. I can simply refer to the fact that just two London boroughs—yes, two London boroughs—have more EV charging points than the whole of Wales does, despite the rise in the use of electric vehicles across the country. As Peter Fox says, it simply doesn't wash with the Welsh public to keep pointing your fingers down the M4 to Westminster and blaming 'the nasty Tories' for all of the Government's shortcomings.
The Welsh public voted for devolution in 1997; they also voted for law-making powers in 2011. But what they also voted for is the accountability that comes with authority, and they are simply not seeing evidence of this being met. And electorally, it shows: since 2007, the Welsh Conservatives have gained and held many Senedd constituencies and regions—most recently, my constituency in the Vale of Clwyd in 2021. And as I've mentioned in previous debates, this is because the Welsh people are seeing, for themselves, the shortcomings of the Labour Party in Wales and are categorically rejecting them across the country, apart from, of course, their heartlands in south Wales and the Valleys. But that doesn't stop us. That doesn't quash my party's ambition to inform the Welsh public about the reality of Labour in Wales and how they are letting us down in almost all devolved competencies.
I'm able to see this myself in my own constituency week in, week out, with the perennial issues of Betsi Cadwaladr, which is back under direct Welsh Government control since February. Only a few weeks ago, a constituent contacted me to inform me of a 55-hour wait—yes, 55 hours—for A&E services at Glan Clwyd Hospital. That is an obscene amount of time to wait. We have seen the constant revolving door of chief executives, board members sacked by the health Minister, fraudulent accounting from some of the highest paid executives in the land, the poor vascular report recently, abuse in mental health units, the Health and Social Care Advisory Service report, the Donna Ockenden report, and the failure to build the north Denbighshire hospital in Rhyl after a decade of broken promises to my constituents in Rhyl, Prestatyn and surrounding areas. And the Labour Party wonder why they've lost faith across north Wales.
I don't want to simply use this as a time just to criticise; we also need answers and we need solutions. [Interruption.] This is the best bit. What we need to see is careers in social care becoming more attractive to potential candidates through training, glass ceiling breaking and career prospects for those who aspire to move up the pay scales and enhance the care that is received, and a reliable structurein the sector to support those ambitions. And where the Welsh Conservatives support an uplift in the real living wage, we believe this needs to go further, to attract people into the sector, to populate the workforce with social care providers, and to help the NHS in bringing down bedblocking and waiting times, as the two sectors are intrinsically linked. What we need to see are fewer warm words from the Government, linking the two sectors and providing a tangible plan for the future on how this is to be achieved. And I totally understand the challenges in doing so: 99 per cent of healthcare provision across Wales falls under the public sector, where social care is fragmented between the public, private, third and charity sectors. So, there is your challenge right there. That explains the reason for needing more than just words but actions on how the Welsh Government plan to tackle this problem, which will only magnify over time with us being an ageing society.
So, to close my remarks, Dirprwy Lywydd—

Yes, please.

Gareth Davies AS: I won't test your patience any further. It's time to grasp the nettle, knuckle down, and learn the realities of the varying and acute challenges that Wales faces in 2023 and beyond. Thank you.

Rhianon Passmore AC: The challenges that the people of Islwyn and Wales face in a year of, I think, now three crashed UK Prime Ministers are real and are exhausting. They're exhausting in time, in stress, in mental health, and in physical work hours endured by our citizens. And we are all enduring a Tory living crisis, or an inability-to-live crisis, from a clapped-out, catastrophic succession of vacuous self-serving Governments of the UK. The state of the nations and our populace is in crisis, and it's no accident—it is a result of a catalogue of chosen UK policy, deliberate policy changes made by ideologically driven Westminster Tories.
In Wales, the Welsh Labour Government continues, though, to be a vanguard of support and hope for my constituents, and this is what I hear every day. There are 2,500 affordable homes; 1,000 unused properties in good quality homes; 35,000 people supported with temporary accommodation since March 2020; 28,000—

Janet Finch-Saunders AC: That's nothing to be proud of.

Rhianon Passmore AC: If you'd like to listen, Janet—. There are 28,000 all-age apprenticeships; 20,000 young people have been supported on the young person's guarantee; universal free school meals in primary schools, starting with the youngest; and the most aspirational, ambitious, twenty-first century schools programmes for our young people, despite an abysmal £1 million of capital for this year. And unlike Jeremy Hunt and Michael Gove—I refer you to the pamphlet that they wrote not so long ago—it is the Welsh Labour Government that proudly defends the Labour political idea of universal healthcare free at the point of need. This is us. The record of the Welsh Labour Government has been commendable, under the very toughest of UK-induced regressions.
But we all know there is so much more to do, and we need both the correct fiscal formula, and also the respect—the respect—for Wales to do so. Our legislative programme contains so many Bills that will directly benefit the lives of my Islwyn residents, and, notably, the reform laws around coal tip safety and spoil tips. This Welsh Government proposal will establish a world-first regime for managing disused tips in the era of climate change. And I also know from my postbag the desire to end the profit from care, and the urgent need of the Welsh Government's proposed bus Bill—the wheels on those buses do need to turn again.
Minister, however much the Welsh Labour Government—to conclude—can impact for the better the lives of Welsh people, it still operates within an ad hoc, archaic framework, with a reactionary Tory UK Government, whose financial policies have inflicted that inability to live, of the most serious kind seen in living memory. The greatest gift, I believe, that the Prime Minister could ever give to the people of Wales would be, yes, to call a democratic general election, and just allow, allow the people of Wales to elect a UK Government that would give Wales and her people a fair chance, a Labour Government to make the wheels on our UK bus finally go round once more, and genuinely—genuinely—really meet the needs once more of all the people of our United Kingdom and of our Wales. Diolch, Llywydd.

I call on the First Minister to reply to the debate.

Mark Drakeford AC: Dirprwy Lywydd, diolch yn fawr. Can I thank my Labour colleagues John Griffiths and Rhianon Passmore for the way they put on the record the achievements of this Labour Government, in transport, in recycling, in housing, in health, in coal tip safety and all those other things that genuinely resonate in the lives of people throughout Wales?

Mark Drakeford AC: May I also thank Rhun ap Iorwerth for his comments and the positive note that he began his contribution with on those things that we are developing together in the co-operation agreement?

Mark Drakeford AC: The Government will accept the first amendment proposed in the name of Heledd Fychan this afternoon, Llywydd. It sets out the progress we've made in the co-operation agreement, and we're pleased to support it. The second amendment got off to such a good start as well, before finally throwing itself off a cliff in its final half sentence, taking, I'm afraid, the rest of its party with it down that chasm of independence, promoted so often by Plaid Cymru, but never in a way that has persuaded the Welsh population to follow.

Rhun ap Iorwerth AC: Will you take an intervention?

Mark Drakeford AC: Oh, I'll take an intervention, of course. [Laughter.]

Rhun ap Iorwerth AC: Earlier this afternoon, you talked about the firepower of the UK. That got us thinking 'Where is the firepower of the UK when it comes to saving jobs in all those places that jobs have been lost recently, in saving Welsh families from the cost-of-living crisis and the mortgage increases?' Where is that firepower that we could be taking control of ourselves here in Wales?

Mark Drakeford AC: So, the firepower of the UK, Llywydd, exists in the potential for that next Labour Government. That's where I so much disagreed with him. He has written off the next Labour Government before it's even been elected. He's already disappointed in it before it's even got through the door. [Laughter.] Well, I really do not share that sense of deterministic pessimism—[Interruption.] Of course.

Llyr Gruffydd AC: So, what you're saying is: let the electors of England decide our fate.

Mark Drakeford AC: No. I'm saying let the people of the United Kingdom elect that next Labour Government and the people of Wales will make the greatest contribution to that Government of any part of the United Kingdom. That's why we're proud to be in the party we're in and to be in the country that we are in as well.
Dirprwy Lywydd, let me end with the contributions from the Conservative Party. Gareth Davies, in favour of devolution but not of democracy. It's a wonderful combination. And Peter Fox, well, it it being so cheerful that keeps him going. [Laughter.] We know that. That sad parade of canards that we are offered by the Welsh Conservatives. There is, I believe, Llywydd, deep somewhere in the office of the Welsh Conservative Party, a speech probably written on velum it is so old now, that is brought out annually for this debate. It's the same speech every single year. The only thing that differs in it is where they have to cross out '10 years of Labour Government', '15 years of Labour Government', '20 years of Labour Government' [Laughter.] That's the only new thing they have to say every year. They've said it again this year. It'll have the same impact. We will vote against this amendment and call on the Senedd, of course, to support the motion in front of you this afternoon.

The proposal is to agree amendment 1. Does any Member object? [Objection.] Yes, there are objections. I will therefore defer voting until voting time, and all votes under this item will be taken during voting time.

Voting deferred until voting time.

8. Voting Time

Unless three Members wish for the bell to be rung, I will move immediately to voting time. We will now vote on item 7, and I call for a vote on amendment 1, tabled in the name of Heledd Fychan. Open the vote. Close the vote. In favour 38, no abstentions, 16 against, therefore the amendment is agreed.

Item 7. Debate: Welsh Government Annual Report. Amendment 1, tabled in the name of Heledd Fychan: For: 38, Against: 16, Abstain: 0
Amendment has been agreedClick to see vote results

I now call for a vote on amendment 2, tabled in the name of Heledd Fychan. Open the vote. Close the vote. In favour 12, no abstentions, 42 against, therefore amendment 2 is not agreed.

Item 7. Debate: Welsh Government Annual Report. Amendment 2, tabled in the name of Heledd Fychan: For: 12, Against: 42, Abstain: 0
Amendment has been rejectedClick to see vote results

I now call for a vote on amendment 3, tabled in the name of Darren Millar. Open the vote. Close the vote. In favour 15, no abstentions, 39 against, therefore amendment 3 is not agreed.

Item 7. Debate: Welsh Government Annual Report. Amendment 3, tabled in the name of Darren Millar: For: 15, Against: 39, Abstain: 0
Amendment has been rejectedClick to see vote results

I now call for a vote on the motion as amended.

Motion NDM8325 as amended:
To propose that the Senedd, in accordance with Standing Order 11.21(ii):
1. Notes:
a)the Welsh Government Annual Report 2022/23;
b) progress on the Legislative Programme.
2. Welcomes the continued progress made as part of the Cooperation Agreement between Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Government which has implemented a number of transformational policies as part of the Programme for Government.

Open the vote. Close the vote. In favour 39, no abstentions, 15 against, therefore the motion as amended is agreed.

Item 7. Debate: Welsh Government Annual Report. Motion (as amended): For: 39, Against: 15, Abstain: 0
Motion as amended has been agreedClick to see vote results

And that brings today's proceedings to a close.

The meeting ended at 17:42.

QNR

Questions to the First Minister

Russell George: Will the First Minister make a statement on the establishment of the NHS Wales accountability ministerial advisory group?

Mark Drakeford: The independent ministerial advisory group will consider the current governance and accountability structures within NHS Wales and provide any recommendations necessary to strengthen current arrangements.

Mike Hedges: Will the First Minister provide an update on Welsh Government support for children living in poorer households?

Mark Drakeford: The Welsh Government has a number of key programmes and initiatives that support children in poorer households. Initiatives including Flying Start, our childcare offer, help with school costs, free school meals and our young person’s guarantee help young people to improve their life chances and reach their potential.

Sam Rowlands: What is the Welsh Government doing to encourage international tourists to visit Wales?

Mark Drakeford: Our strategy, 'Welcome to Wales: Priorities for the visitor economy 2020-2025', sets our vision and ambition for the sector. The Welsh Government supports the development of tourism through a range of marketing activities and campaigns both at home and internationally.

Vikki Howells: How is the Welsh Government working with partners to promote messages around the importance of water safety?

Mark Drakeford: We are working with Water Safety Wales, a collaboration of individuals, communities, charities and public and private sector organisations, to implement the Wales drowning prevention strategy. The strategy will enable people to be safer in, on and around water, promoting a consistent approach to water safety engagement, education and awareness.